Weight Watching Wednesday

I have been asked what my secret it is to losing weight. Today is the big day that I am going to finally share with you exactly what that SECRET is. Are you ready for this? Okay, move a bit closer to the screen. Press your ear close. The secret is.....

THERE IS NO SECRET!!

Losing weight is really a basic formula. Calories in vs. calories burned. Sounds super easy, right?You eat well, exercise and the weight or inches will go. That is not always the case. It takes the right mix of both to see results. There were times when I hit the exercise thing hard and ate super well and my weeks were a wash. Making sure I had enough food for the amount of exercise I was doing was key. I am not a "to-the-calorie" counter. But, I did make myself aware of what some of the foods I was consuming had in them and learned that when I ate some of those "naughty" things that I had to make up for in the other food I ate that day or with exercise. Finding the balance was really important. I do have to admit, learning what exact formula your body needs can be a bit tricky.

So, what do I do for exercise?

Basically what ever gets my body moving. I have an elliptical and a recumbent bike. I also have really enjoyed my pilates videos. Another good DVD choice is the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred (makes you break a sweat) and you can get a quick work out in 20 minutes which is a huge plus.

So basically, all I have been doing is watching my food intake and moving. When I say moving, it is not only in exercise, it is daily activities. I try to do more in my every days too to burn those extra calories. All those little extras add to calories burned. That is it! Well, it sounds simple, huh? It is not. It takes alot of will power and dedication. But, if you commit yourself than the reward at the end, far outweighs the hard work and the sacrifices you make during the process. As you see your body change and your clothes fit differently...there really isn't words to describe how you feel.

I love sweets, what did you eat when you had those cravings?

When I first started losing weight I had to really watch my sweets. That is my thing. I can pass the chips and salty foods up in a heartbeat, it is the sugar that calls my name. In the beginning I really restricted my intake, but didn't go cold turkey. I figured I would binge later if I did that. When I was needing something sweet, I grabbed:

• A 100 calorie pack treat (not nutritious, but gave me the sweet I craved with portion control)
• Sugar Free Jello Puddings
• Fruit
• A piece of dark chocolate
• Sugar Free Fudgsicles
• Vanilla Bean or Cocoa flavored Blue Diamond Almonds (just a touch of sweet with all the goodness of the almond)
• Sugar Free Frozen Hot Chocolate
• Lowfat Graham crackers with fat-free or light whip topping, sandwich them together and freeze.

Once I was in the mindset and had a bit more self control, I started trying all the sinful desserts, just A LOT less of it. A taste sometimes was all I wanted and I found that some things were just too sweet for me after laying off of it for awhile.

As I said before I am a tip junkie. So, here are a couple questions to test your smarts.


Question #1:
Dieting drops your resting metabolic rate, making it harder to keep weight off (T/F)

True. For every pound you lose, your resting metabolism drops by about 2 to 10 calories a day. Lose 10 pounds, and you now have to eat 20 to 100 fewer calories to maintain your trimmer physique, not factoring in exercise. However, you can prevent your metabolic rate from slipping while you get slim. One way is to lose fat but maintain muscle. You can do this by reducing calories and increasing aerobic and resistance exercise. Crash diets (fewer than 1,000 calories a day) may result in a higher percentage of muscle loss.

Tip: Lose weight by cutting 250 calories a day and burning 250 calories per day through exercise. That will help you retain or even gain muscle while you lose a greater percentage of body fat.


Question #2 :
Eating a grapefruit before every meal speeds metabolism (T/F)

False. Grapefruit won't work miracles for your metabolism, but it can help you lose weight. Half a grapefruit before meals helped individuals lose about 4 pounds in 12 weeks, according to a study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food. The reason: Its fiber and water fill you up on fewer calories, so you eat less at your next meal.

Tip: Instead of soup or salad, for a change up, try a juicy piece of fresh fruit(i.e. half a grapefruit, a tangerine) before your main course.


So there it is. Round 1 of {WEIGHT WATCHING WEDNESDAY}. Also, here is a website of an amazing gal that will be posting tips every Friday, hence FIT FRIDAY. Check her out, I plan to:

http://fitfriday.blogspot.com/