(# 69) Share an entree with a friend
The above advice is from an anti-obesity government web site (”Small Steps“). Someone there has a sense of humor or just “got lucky” with the numbering.
Of course it is consistent with the rest of their advice, especially:
- (# 59) Choose activities you enjoy & you’ll be more likely to stick with them.
They even offer trouble-shooting advice:
- (# 49) If you find it difficult to be active after work, try it before work.
Little sacrifices add up — the “change jar theory” of weight maintenance
When I was a struggling college student I never spent my change. I always threw it into a tennis ball can I kept on my dresser. Then, when the day came that I ran low on money and really needed to eat (and that day always came) I would dig into the can. I always found I could feed myself for a few more days that way. I was always impressed with how quickly the change built up.
According to Glee Magazine, this effect with food can sabotage your carefully-crafted weight maintenace plan and cause you to gain 20 lbs every year.
I see that as glass-half-full thinking. Another way to look at this is that cutting minor portions out of your daily consumption will add up over time and make it easier for you to maintain or even lose weight. Every sacrifice, regardless of how minor, counts. Skipping those last few bites on your plate, having one cookie instead of two, or even forgoing sugar in your coffee all add up over time. This way, when you share a dessert you would normally eat on your own, you get to feel proud of your self-restraint rather than guilty over your lack of control.
(via That’s Fit)
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (1)Between-meal snacking the high-intensity flavor way
There has been a lot of discussion lately about 100 calorie snack packages. Most of the discussion focuses on how expensive they are or on how to create healthy versions. Certainly I am in the target market for these snack packages (I have ordered food at restaurants asking them to just leave side dishes off my plate — my will power ends once the food is in front of me), but to a certain degree they miss the point for me.
I don’t snack because I am hungry. I snack to keep my mouth entertained. This is the same reason I consume way too much Diet Coke. I find the slightly irritating taste and high acidity keeps me from getting bored while I sit in front of the computer all day. This has lead me to develop an unusual form of snacking: snacking on things with high-intensity flavors. Examples:
- One square of good, very dark chocolate (30-50 calories)
- One pimento olive (10 calories)
- One slice of very sharp cheddar cheese (100 calories)
- Two 1/8″ slices of high-quality salami (60 calories)
- 1 big piece of beef jerky — good because it is hard to eat quickly (80 calories)
I have found that a little of any of these are satisfying enough to make me not crave more. How many pimento olives can you eat in one sitting anyway?
Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (3)