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May 2010 Newsletter
Please feel free to
forward this email to anyone who may be interested
Whatever your goal ……playing your
violin/guitar beautifully, being a top rugby player, being top of
your class, or being fit & healthy; it is the consistency of
practising the right behaviours that will make the difference
between succeeding or not. Consistency is the key!!! And consistency
needs a certain amount of stubbornness and persistence until your
new behaviours become habits.
But as always, there is good
news! No matter where you are in your health and fitness goals,
whatever you decide this very minute can start you on the way to
where you want to be. EVERY decision counts and every consistently
healthy decision will make a difference.
When you start seeing each
mini-decision as being part of the bigger picture of your ultimate
goal is when things start shifting positively.
So, how to start?
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Firstly, forget
about being perfect – seriously!!! We are
talking consistency here, not perfection!! While losing weight may
require significant changes in your eating and exercise habits,
not every high-calorie food must be banished forever, and you do
not need to exercise vigorously every day. On some days, you will
find your choices are far from the best ones. This is normal, so
don’t let these “bad” days deter you from returning to your
healthier eating and exercise habits as soon as you can. Even top
athletes have their bad days!!
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Set realistic
goals. And here is where each and everyone of us
needs to do a reality check….if you have more than a few kilograms
to lose or you have been a couch potato all of your life…there is
no quick fix or healthy way to reverse your situation in an few
days or weeks like advertised in magazines or on the TV. You
need to give yourself time!!!
The
safest rate of weight loss is 0.5 to 1kg a week. And an added bonus:
If you lose weight at this rate, you are more likely to keep it off.
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Baby steps.
Too much, too fast and too soon can leave you feeling overwhelmed,
frustrated and perhaps even injured. Instead, ease into exercise;
do not overdo it. If you can only walk on the treadmill for 10
minutes, that’s fine. However, in a week try to increase the time
to 15 minutes and pick up the pace. In addition, adopt a healthy
diet in stages. For example, if you typically drink whole milk,
switch to reduced-fat (2 percent) milk, then to fat-free, or go
from 2 sugars in your coffee to 1.5 sugars, slowly down to
nothing. You will be amazed how quickly your taste buds will
adapt!
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Education
–Sorry everyone, if you can read; ignorance is no longer an excuse
for bad eating habitsJ!!!
Check Food Labels Closely.
Get to know what’s in the food you eat. Become educated and you
will also be prone to make less calorie laden errors!
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Know Your Portion
Sizes. There’s a difference between serving size
and a portion size. A serving is a standard amount of food
containing a set amount of calories (most packaging will have the
nutritional values per 100grams and per serving size); a portion
is what you actually put on your plate. So your portion may be a
lot more than a single serving - and therefore contain much more
calories than you think. Get to know the calories/proper portion
sizes of your favourite ten meals so you remove room for error.
www.thedailyplate.com (owned by The Live Strong Foundation) has
nutritional information on hundreds of thousands of meals & drinks.
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When in doubt
- Try the veggie-loaded plate method. Use your plate to guide your
food selection and portion sizes. One half of the plate should be
vegetables. The other side can be split between protein and
starchy carbohydrates. People who eat five or more servings of
fruits and vegetables a day are more successful with weight loss.
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Limit the calories
you drink. While most people understand sugary
soft drinks add calories; iced teas, vitamin waters and juices can
be just as bad. Iced tea is no less calorie-dense than cola, and
you'd be better off eating the fruit than drinking the juice.
-
Anticipate
temptation. If you know you can't resist freshly
baked brownies, don't keep a mix in your pantry. Also, if you are
going somewhere with friends and family and know you'll have a
hard time controlling yourself, make a decision before you get
there about what you will eat — and stick to it. When out, start
meals with soup or salad. People tend to eat less when they
precede a meal with a low calorie soup or salad (just keep an eye
on how much oil you put on your salad).
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Emphasize what you
can eat, not what you can’t. Positive thinking
extends to weight management, too: After all, diets often fail
because we feel deprived and that is why a life style program has
a so much greater chance of succeeding. By focusing on what you
can eat rather than focusing on all you are missing, you’ll feel
better about the changes you are making.
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Be adventurous!
Eat a variety of foods. By eating a small amount of
different-tasting foods, you can create a sense of fullness
without consuming huge amounts of calories.
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Try high fibre and
high water. Eat foods that have a high water
and/or high fibre content and are low in fat. Soups, salads,
stews, casseroles, fruits, vegetables, low-fat milk, cooked
grains, and beans are all good choices. These “wet” foods have
fewer calories -- as opposed to “dry” foods like biscuits, cereal,
and crackers, which have a high energy density (meaning they
contain more calories per gram).
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Keep a diary of
your successes and achievements. This increases
motivation and will remind you of how much you have achieved over
time. A great way to boost self esteem! For those of you, who have
seen me, perhaps start up your daily diary again if you have
stopped using it
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Become your own
best friend! Over your lifetime, you have
probably been successful in tackling many challenges, including
perhaps some rather hectic and stressful times. Reminding yourself
of your own strengths and resources can help you feel more
confident about making the changes that will lead to healthy
living.
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Have a treat.
There is power in variety AND having a treat now and then (my
suggestion is on the 7th day, have a treat)! This is the easiest
was to banish any feelings of deprivation or being hard done by.
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Finally,
plan out some small steps you can take this week that will help
you to realise your new future. Then, each week going forward, sit
down and write out how you can enhance your life in the week
ahead. Remember, baby steps and persistent consistence will bring
you a long way towards achieving the healthy self you want to be.
Kind regards
Lesley Wood
021-4182843
082 3 782 782
www.weight-masters.com
I love receiving your questions,
comments or queries! Email me at
info@weight-masters.com. I will endeavour to return your mail
within 48hours.
When you affirm big, believe big and pray big, putting faith into
action, big things happen. Dr. Norman
Vincent Peale 1898-1993, Preacher and
Author
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