Meal Planning – Do you know what you're having for dinner?
It gets very old day after day having to worry about what you’re going to eat for three meals each day and snacks. Throw in changed plans and crazy schedules and the fast food lane is suddenly looking more and more appetizing.
A simple way to make the burden of meal preparation much easier is to plan ahead. Planning a menu does not have to be complicated, it simply requires investing a little time each week to plan ahead.
There are many benefits to planning your meals.
A meal plan saves you money. Having a plan will reduce unexpected trips to the grocery store and impulse purchases. You can also work leftovers into your plan to reduce wasted food.
A meal plan saves you time. By planning ahead you’ll have the ingredients you need on hand versus last minute stops at the grocery store, trips to the neighbors, or searches to the bottom of your freezer.
A meal plan promotes weight loss. By having a plan in place you decrease the stress of thinking about what you’re going to eat everyday. You’re less likely to “cheat” and grab a treat from the vending machine because you planned ahead and have a healthy snack of nuts and dried fruit on hand. You’re less likely to opt for the drive thru because you have everything you need for supper at home and ready to go.
All you need to do is pick one day each week to outline your meals/snacks for the week to come. Make sure you have the ingredients you need on hand. Use your menu plan to create your grocery shopping list and stock your fridge/cupboards with the ingredients you’ll need for the week.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
1-A-Week Weight Loss Tips
Weight Loss – Is Your Neighborhood Making You Fat?
A survey of 2900 individuals found those living near more fast food restaurants and convenience stores to be 25% more likely to be obese. The Canadian survey looked at food sources within 800 and 1600 meters of homes. If there were more grocery stores versus restaurants/convenience the likelihood of obesity decreased. The link between restaurants/convenience stores versus grocery stores also decreased with distances greater than 1600 meters.
This was a short survey I found interesting and decided I’d share with you. There is no concrete evidence to say the higher number of restaurants/convenience stores is to blame for the higher obesity rates. The survey did not actually look at individual eating habits. However, if you are looking to move and make a healthy change at the same time, maybe the above is something to take into consideration!
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Top 5 Key Strategies to Lose Weight Permanently
How to Lose Weight – 5 Key Strategies to Start Losing Weight Today!
Here are five strategies you can start using today to promote long term weight loss:
1. Don’t cut calories too low – Drastic calorie restriction can slow your metabolism.
2. Eat a well balanced breakfast everyday.
3. Strength train to build muscle mass and boost your metabolism.
4. Eat regular meals and snacks – Do not go more than 3-4 hours between meals/snacks.
5. Include healthy fats in moderation to promote a feeling of fullness.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Mini Diet Makeover
Weight Loss – Do you need to change the way you think to lose weight?
It’s the New Year and there’s a good chance you’ve set a weight loss goal for your New Year’s resolution. By losing weight you’ll dramatically reduce your heart disease risk, lower blood pressure, and lower cholesterol. However, according to studies, the chances of you achieving your weight loss goal this year are slim.
I want to increase your chance of success, but it might require a mind shift! I have a couple issues I want you to explore your thoughts on.
1. Dieting
The first is whether or not you should make a mental shift around the whole “dieting” issue. Let’s focus on the word itself – “diet”. I want you to think about and explore your reaction and feelings when you hear the word “diet” and when you think about “going on a diet”. What comes to mind?
Examples would be feelings of restriction, thoughts of the short-term, such as I’ll do the South Beach Diet for two weeks to jump start my weight loss, another thought may be limits, and thought’s of what you can and can’t have once you start a diet. Of course, it’s possible you have a more positive reaction, such as hopeful and excited about the possibilities. My gut reaction is negative, which is probably why I can come up with a longer list of negatives for examples! I feel a tightening in my stomach when I think about “going on a diet”. I immediately have thoughts about the foods I can’t have, I feel restricted, and I think about when the diet will be over.
Have you considered another option to reach your weight loss or other health goals besides dieting? Here’s what I want you to consider now and in the days to come. Do you have to go on a diet to meet your goals? Instead, could you focus on healthy living and making healthy choices. Generally the word diet implies a short term approach and gives short term results. If you like statistics, statistics show 95% of people who lose weight on a diet gain it back. That’s not very encouraging. If you make a commitment to healthy living or healthy choices you shift to a long term mindset. A type of thinking that supports small changes over time that lead to permanent results.
Take some time and explore your reaction to the two statements:
“I’m making healthy choices.”
Versus
“I’m starting a diet.”
Which has a more positive feel for you?
If this isn’t something you’ve considered before, it’s simply a shift in thinking I’d like you explore. See if you need to adjust your mindset.
2. All or Nothing Approach
Okay, let’s move on to the second issue I want you to consider – Does if have to be an “All or Nothing Approach”?
Do you have to change all your bad habits at once to be successful?
For example, going on a raw food diet is probably a drastic change for most of us. (FYI – I’m in no way recommending a raw food diet, simply an example.) Is that the type of approach you need or would you be more successful targeting one or two not so healthy habits to change at a time? Once you’ve successful changed those habits, you move on to new ones.
“Strict diets” and “all or nothing approaches” generally fail. It is unrealistic to expect yourself to stick with a strict diet plan forever. Many people are gung ho at the beginning of a diet, after a week or two they start to slack off and “cheat” on the diet. Feelings of guilt and failure come in and thoughts of “well I’ve already blown today, I’ll start fresh tomorrow”, and then the gradual plummet back to old unhealthy habits.
So, I encourage you to consider a more open approach to achieving your health or weight loss goals. Does it have to be all or nothing?
Receive nutrition coaching from dietitian Lisa Nelson, as well as heart health and weight loss tips when you sign up for The Heart of Health. Subscribers receive the free bonus report “Stop Wasting Money – Take Control of Your Health”.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Best Weight Loss Plan – Team Member #4
If you’ve been following along, here is the fourth and final member to put together your best weight loss plan and complete your team. We’ve already covered:
1. Doctor
2. Nutritionist
3. Personal Trainer
Successfully losing weight and maintaining the weight loss requires several different factors all working together. Get a team of experts behind you to successfully to achieve the long-term weight loss you desire.
Support Group
One of those factors is a strong support system to encourage and support you as you work towards your goal. Losing weight doesn’t have to be tackled by yourself and you drastically increase your rate of success by surrounding yourself with individuals supporting you, such as what you receive from the NewU group dietitians and members. Changing your habits, such as cutting back on portion sizes, selecting healthier options, making time to workout by yourself can lead to feelings of loneliness and possibly after time depression. And where does depression lead? That’s right, to some good ole comfort foods that are usually not the best choices to go overboard on if you want to lose weight! Participating in a support group is critical to overcoming the challenges everyone faces on the road to weight loss.
Family and friends are not always the best option for support. Usually because they’ve been apart of your unhealthy lifestyle and they may unconsciously sabotage your efforts, such as inviting you out for drinks or dinner. You find yourself being “different” than the group, which can be difficult. Not that you’re going to cut off your current family and friends, just know they can present an unexpected obstacle. You can persuade your friends to join you by explaining why and what you’re doing and ask them to be supportive and finding alternative activities you can do together, such as instead of dinner meeting at the park for a walk.
Also, remember your family and friends will have their own opinion about what you should and shouldn’t be doing when it comes to weight loss. Not necessarily the best source for nutrition and fitness advice, which is why you want all your necessary weight loss team players in place!
Team Member #1
Team Member #2
Team Member #3
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Top 5 Key Strategies to Lose Weight Permanently
Best Weight Loss Plan – Team Member #3
All right, we’ve covered two critical members of your weight loss team – your doctor and your nutritionist. We’re ready to talk about weight loss team member #3.
Personal Trainer
Healthy eating and physical activity go hand-in-hand if you want to successfully lose weight. But, how much cardio do you need? Should you be lifting weights? How often do you need to workout? How long do you need to workout? A personal trainer can design a fitness routine and make sure you’re doing the exercises correctly.
Meeting with a personal trainer can be pricey, but there are alternatives – phone and/or internet coaching for half the cost (or less). There are many programs online that allow you to enter information and download workout routines based on your information. Many programs also allow you to track your progress. For best results, I encourage you to consult with a trainer in person for one or two appointments. This will allow you to have a fitness assessment and time to discuss your goals with your trainer. The trainer will also go through the recommend workout routine with you to make sure you understand all activities and are using the correct form and technique. After this, you can check-in with your trainer via phone or email to monitor program and answer questions. Some trainers even review video footage of workouts.
Don’t worry that working with a trainer means you have to have a gym membership. Trainers can develop a program for you at a gym or based in your home. You can get in a great workout anywhere – gym, home, park, etc.
Another lower cost option would be group training in which a small number of people work with a trainer at one time.
Just as with a nutritionist, make sure your trainer is qualified and has a current certification from a respected organization, such as the American College of Sports Medicine.
Weight Loss Team Member #1
Weight Loss Team Member #2
Weight Loss Team Member #4
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Top 5 Key Strategies to Lose Weight Permanently
