Eat Out Eat Well

goals

Goal!!!

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Do you remember being told to line up in size places in elementary school?  How about getting a star for hanging stuff up in your cubby – or winning a candy bar for hitting the most tennis balls over the net?

We’re a goal-oriented society.  From very early on we learn to work toward a goal or an end result – and often receive some kind of reward if we succeed.

Why not apply that focus to healthy eating and managing your weight?

Goals Can Be Tricky

Have you seen the hang-dog look on an athlete’s face when he or she is in a goal scoring drought?  What about the look on a goalie’s face when that blasted ball or puck lands in the net?

The same thing holds true for goals we might set for ourselves.  Many of us set these broad – huge – goals that are virtually impossible to accomplish.  For instance, (despite Biggest Loser results) you’re not going to lose thirty pounds by the end of next week.

All those huge non-specific goals just end up making you feel positively awful when you don’t succeed at achieving them.  You’ve basically set yourself up for failure and you’ll be physically and/or emotionally sporting that hang-dog demeanor.

Are You Starting Small And Specific Enough?

So many of us are guilty of all-or-nothing thinking and overly ambitious goals. Guess what happens?  We shoot ourselves in our collective feet and call ourselves failures.  Do it often enough and we solidly embed a “no can do” attitude and habit in our brains.

The key is to start with very small, realistic, and accomplishable goals – like putting mustard on your sandwich instead of mayo, or riding your exercise bike for 15 minutes three days this week (instead of saying you’ll ride for an hour seven days – most likely it ain’t gonna happen).

Write your goal down (writing reinforces it) and set a time target for achieving it. Leaving it open ended is just an invitation to put off taking the necessary action (a form of procrastination).  Commit to taking whatever action is required twice a week, then three times, then everyday. Start small and with things that are fairly easy to do and that don’t disrupt your lifestyle. Get some success under your belt.  Then move on to bigger challenges.

You’ll be amazed at how good you feel with a nice sense of accomplishment tucked under your belt.  Makes you want to go back for more!

Have You Broken Your “I’m Going To Lose Weight” Resolution Yet?

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The definition of a resolution is a firm decision to do or not do something. Have you made one or more resolutions recently – and does one or more of them have to do with losing weight or changing an eating habit?

The #1 New Year’s resolution is to lose weight. A recent study by a psychology professor found that for people who make resolutions, 75% keep them for the first week of the New Year; 71% are still maintaining their resolution after two weeks, and 46% are still keeping their New Year’s resolutions at six months.

Are those better stats than you thought? New Year’s resolutions really help you to define your goals and to identify what you want to accomplish or change.  But, identifying your goals or desires is one thing, realizing them requires a plan, work, and most of all, a commitment.

Why Do You Want To Lose Weight?

Losing weight and keeping it off takes time, effort, and a long-term commitment. It’s important to ask yourself if you’re really ready to make permanent changes and to decide if you’ll be making those changes for the right reasons  — for instance, losing weight because your want to feel better and be healthier, or that you want to look better because you want to look better – not because your spouse or partner wants you to look better.

Staying Committed

To stay committed you really need to be focused. It takes a lot of energy, both mental and physical, to form new healthy habits. So, to clear the way, first try to address the other challenges in your life – things like relationship or financial problems. It’s awfully tough to focus on multiple challenges at the same time.  While some challenges may never completely go away, managing them should make it easier to focus on losing weight.

Then, when you’re ready to commit to working on losing weight, pick a start date and go for it. Weight loss is a personal journey.  No one else can make you lose weight, although others can certainly help support you and hold you accountable in positive ways. Try to identify what will motivate you and keep you focused and then figure out a way to call on those motivators during those inevitable moments of temptation.

To use a frequently overused phrase – weight loss is a journey – but for this journey there is a map you can draw and follow – your own foodMAP to weight control.

Next post: goals, goals, and more goals.

Control Calories

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Americans eat out, on average, six times a week.  I’ve read that statistic in many places and can’t argue with it.  I often eat out a lot (more than six times a week if the truth be told) — for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and in all kinds of restaurants – diners, cafeterias, and places with tablecloths on the tables. clip_image001

That’s my lifestyle, and having to be constantly vigilant about managing my weight, I had to learn how to control my caloric intake while eating out. 

It’s certainly easier to control the portion size and fat and calorie content of your food if you cook it at home. In your own kitchen you know what you’re putting in your food. And you don’t have to put bread on the table if you don’t want to or do things like rinse your vegetables in oil to make them look fresh and pretty.

Restaurants love to use butter, oil, full-fat dairy, and higher fat meats.  Their business is to make food that tastes good and to entice you to come back again. What goes into your food is, for the most part, in the hands of the preparer in the restaurant kitchen whose primary objective is not to keep the calories down (unless that’s the promise or the response to your request) but to get your food on the table.

But, you can learn ways to control your caloric intake when you eat out. You can easily make requests and small changes that put you in charge of the calorie count while still enjoying your dining experience.

I’ll be talking about additional strategies to use in future posts, but for now, here are some things you can do to cut the calories:

  • Learn the code words on the menu that signal the fattier and more caloric dishes
  • Be pleasantly assertive when asking to go “off menu” or to have food prepared in a specific manner – like grilled rather than pan fried
  • Be aware of mindless eating:  olives on the table, peanuts at the bar, tastes of everyone else’s food
  • Learn how to eyeball portion sizes and commit to eating that size rather than cleaning your plate.  Premeasure at home so you have a guide about how much, for example, 5 oz of meat looks like – or 4oz. of wine.  Commit it to memory so you can eyeball portion sizes
  • Stay out of the breadbasket – and, if you do indulge, lay off of the butter, olive oil, and other dips
  • Practice trade-offs:  if you’re going to have dessert eliminate the appetizer and vice versa
  • Check out the menu ahead of time and decide what to order so you are not tempted by the possible calorie laden “special of the day”
  • Rehearse these words so they become your habitual request: 
    • dry toast/pancakes/English muffin (no butter)
    • dressing on the side (for salad)
    • do you have skim/low fat milk?
    • no whipped cream
    • sauce on the side for entrees/vegetables
    • may I have salad instead of French fries/onion rings?
    • hold the mayo (try mustard instead)
    • is the sauce tomato or cream based? 

I’ll be posting frequently about additional strategies to use when eating out. 

What are some strategies that you use to control your caloric intake in restaurants?

New Year Resolution Status

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clip_image002_0003Resolutions lead to frustration when you set too many or they’re unrealistic.  Sure everyone would like to lose 20 pounds in one week (ever wonder how they do it on the Biggest Loser?) or go from sedentary to marathon runner in a month. It just doesn’t happen – or if, by some miracle it happens like it does on the Biggest Loser, how sustainable is the achievement?

The American Psychiatric Association (www.HealthyMinds.org) offers some tips to help you keep your New Year’s resolutions:

Try again. Everyone has both made and broken resolutions. We’ve all tried to lose weight or go to the gym more frequently or eat more fruit and veggies.  Not totally succeeding before doesn’t mean that you won’t succeed this time. Have a positive approach.  Create new positive habits to replace the old negative ones.

Don’t make too many resolutions. Our brains don’t like too much disruption at a time.  They’re used to doing something one way.  Pick one thing at a time and create a habit around it.

Be realistic.  Pick a realistic, attainable goal with a clear time frame. A personal goal isn’t a “deal” which can never be broken. Don’t paint yourself into a corner by swearing you’ll do something that might be impossible to achieve –like swearing you’ll never eat ice cream again.

Choose your own resolution. Make sure what you are doing is what you want to do for yourself and not for your friends or relatives. Do you really want to lose weight or are you doing it because your partner wants you to?

Make a plan and write it down. Plan what you’d like to accomplish in three and six months. Set mini goals for each week that lead to accomplishing the big goal. Achieving the mini-goals gives you motivation to keep going and allows you to keep track of your progress.  For example:  your big goal is to eat fast food only once a month rather than your current five times a week.  How about a mini goal of 4 times a week for the first two weeks, then 3 times a week, etc.

Write it down.  Writing your goals down reinforces and solidifies your commitment.  It also makes it harder to lie to yourself.

Create a support network. Family and friends can support your efforts, be a source of accountability, and motivate you to keep going. Unfortunately, they can also be saboteurs (both intentionally and unintentionally) so know what you’re going to do or say if that happens.  Have you heard this:  “Gee, I know you’re on a diet but why don’t you have a little piece of this chocolate cake I made just for you because I know it’s your favorite.”  Figure out how to deal with comments like that.

Forgive yourself and have a plan for setbacks.  Having a plan for when you slip or get off track helps you get back in the swing rather than throwing in the towel in frustration. So you polished off the breadbasket last night at dinner and then followed it up with half a container of ice cream.  It happened.  It’s over.  Don’t let it derail you.  What’s your strategy for getting back on plan?

Give yourself visible cues to remind you of your new behavior.  Send yourself emails, ask co-workers to keep you on your toes, leave post-it note reminders on your kitchen cabinets.  Old habits die hard.  A note on the cabinet where you keep the crackers and chips might prevent you from mindlessly reaching in and munching.

Be committed and willing to work on your goal.  Decide if you’re really willing to make the change in your life. Just making a resolution because it is the New Year won’t keep you motivated to attain your goal. Give yourself visual references – pictures, clothes you want to wear, etc.

Congratulate yourself. Reward yourself when your intermediate goals or resolutions are met.  Maybe it’s time to buy a new pair of jeans to fit your new slimmed down or toned up body.