Where Unhealthy Habits Start
Your weight is the result of many factors working together — height, genes, metabolism (the way your body converts food and oxygen into energy), behavior, and environment. Changes in our environment that make it harder to engage in healthy behaviors have a lot to do with the overall increase in weight over the past few decades:
As a society, we spend a lot of time in the car or sitting behind a desk. For many of us — parents and children alike — daily life doesn't involve a lot of physical activity. If we want to be active, we have to make an effort.
Food is everywhere, along with messages telling us to eat and drink. We can even get something to eat at places where food was never available before — like the gas station. Going out to eat or buying carryout is easy.
Food portions in restaurants and at home are bigger than they used to be.
Becoming overweight doesn't happen overnight. It develops over time when the energy we consume is not in balance with the energy we burn from physical activity.
I know that I can't lose weight without exercising. I thought that by cutting back on my calories -- and I'm not talking about real starvation here -- and exercising and drinking water I would surely lose weight. But I didn't.
So ... it could be that I felt so darn hungry because I'd eliminated almost all sources of fat. It could be my body went into 'starvation' mode and refused to burn up any calories when I exercised. It could be I'm holding 10 lbs of water? I don't know...but I'm not giving up. I did add some fats (like a little olive oil) back into my diet. I'm still walking.
For portion control, I read some good advice:
Order a medium pizza instead of a large. Everyone gets the same number of slices as before; they're just smaller.
Order an appetizer instead of an entrée at a restaurant.
Use tall, narrow glasses instead of short, wide glasses. You will drink less.
Put a smaller portion on a smaller plate; it won't look so skimpy.
Share a portion with a family member or friend.
Instead of giving your child an entire bottle of fruit juice or soda, pour a small amount (1/2 cup) into a cup.
Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.
- Carol Burnett
3 comments:
Hi,
Glad to hear you added olive oil into your diet. It's amazing what eating the "right" fats will do for you. I started getting back on track about two months ago. I'm not "dieting" -- just eating right and getting my diabetic blood sugars where they belong. Guess what - I lost about 20 pounds! I'm exercising (riding an exercise bike 5-6 days a week) and eating well balanced foods. Oh yeah, after about two weeks - I'm not starving either. I am seeking the help of a therapist for the first time in my 40 years of life. She is helping me "stay on target". It's a amazing how she spots problems that I don't see.
"Put a smaller portion on a smaller plate; it won't look so skimpy."
This actually WORKS!! At least for me it does!
Hey you :) I've been eating a ton of frozen grapes and drinking water. I have been treating myself with a skinny cow fudgey bar here and there so I don't feel deprived or guilty. Just wondered if you have been reading the book and what you have thought about it. What chapter are ya on? Maybe we can chat about it sometime this week? Drop me a line!
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