simple weight loss hacks: keeping it real April 3, 2008
Posted by deepali in food, weight loss.trackback
There is, and has always been, one key element to weight loss. Forget what the fad diets and drug companies say, the solution is simple: energy in should be less than energy out. This mean that the amount of calories you intake should be less than the amount of calories you expend. It is simple, and it is straightforward.
Except that it isn’t. Most of us lead normal lives that do not involve food scales and calorimeters. And while I am all for writing down the foods you eat on a daily basis (as well as exercise information), I think it’s absurd and non-productive to measure food and count every single calorie.
Don’t get me wrong – there is some benefit in engaging in these activities in the short-term. Wearing a calorimeter for a few days can help give you a good sense of what your activity level is really like. Counting calories helps you understand portion size and lets you set realistic goals. But you can’t spend the rest of your life doing this.
Instead I like to advise on a few practical and simple tips that help you lose and maintain weight. Some of them are obvious, but unless you’ve actually tried them, you might not realize how powerfully effective they really are.
1. Eat a piece of fruit before every meal. Note the key terms here: “before” and “every”. Most people eat 3 meals a day, so that’s 3 servings of fruit at minimum. If you eat more often, then it’s a judgement call, but generally, your biggest meals should involve fruit. Also, it is important to consume the fruit before the meal. Why? Simply because fruit is mostly fiber, sugar, and water, and it will help fill you up. A piece of fruit consists of a small apple, banana, orange, or 1/2 cup of berries (for example).
2. Drink plenty of water. You don’t need 8 glasses, necessarily. But everytime you crave a snack or a sweet, drink a glass of water first. You can even drink a glass of water before every meal. Just don’t over do it.
3. Cut out the fake drinks. This goes for sugar-, hfcs-, and artificially-sweetened beverages. That means no crystal light, diet coke, gatorade (unless you have a hang over or are exercising), in addition to the usual suspects (fake juices, soda, etc). Diet coke might not have any calories, but it has no nutritional value either. In fact, some research is suggesting that it only makes you crave sugars and processed foods even more. If you need a flavored or sweetened beverage, just go with 100% natural juice. Better yet, eat a piece of fruit and drink a glass of water.
4. Eat in season. Food has growing seasons for a reason. When something is locally produced, buy it locally. The freshness and seasonality ensure that you are receiving the most nutritional value possible. When you eat food out of season (or flown in from far away), you lose important nutrients.
5. Be colorful. Food should not be monochromatic. Instead, make every plate a rainbow. This doesn’t mean skittles, this means a variety of vegetables. In general, aim for an orange or red vegetable and a green vegetable with meals (ideally, every meal, but realistically, 1-2 times a day).
6. Replace oil with oil spray. Stop frying your food in oil. A few spritzes from an oil sprayer (for best results, buy an actual sprayer and fill it with oil – you’ll also save money over the long run) means less oil used and thus fewer calories consumed.
7. Eat Real Food. Forget about the 100-calorie snacks. Forget about micronutrient-infused water/yogurt/tea/oatmeal. Eat real, eat whole, and maybe even eat raw. Need a snack? Have some nuts or carrots. Forget about anything packaged. If it has a brand or a trademark (except perhaps organic or fair trade labeling), forget it.
8. Be mindful. If you pay attention to what you’re eating, and I mean, really pay attention, you’ll notice something significant: crappy food tastes like crap. You just never realized before, because you were too busy watching TV or chasing the kids. So the next time you crave a bag of chips, try this: put one chip in your mouth and let it sit on your tongue for a few seconds. Experience the taste, the texture, the consistency. For 10 seconds, do nothing but become aware of this chip. Then, do the same with a raisin or an orange slice. You’ll see what I mean.
These are just a few really simple steps that anyone can implement. There’s no need for fancy diets, or points, or measuring anything (unless you are just completely clueless about portion size). I don’t count calories at all. I just try to keep it real.
Great post! Thanks for sharing
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[...] weight loss hacks: keeping it real mrockfield | Diet, weight loss, fitness blog wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt There is, and has always been, one [...]
[...] Will wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptThere is, and has always been, one key element to weight loss. Forget what the fad diets and drug companies say, the solution is simple: energy in should be less than energy out. This mean that the amount of calories you intake should … [...]
I love the idea of eating a fruit before every meal, but I would also add “or vegetable.” Eating your salad first or maybe a serving of baby carrots, etc is a great idea.
BTW, I see you have free rice on your blogroll. I had an interesting post today about freepoverty you might want to check out, Geography, Clean Water, and a Healthy Lifestyle
“This mean that the amount of calories you intake should be less than the amount of calories you expend. It is simple, and it is straightforward.”
Actually, it’s not; this bit of mis-information is the surest-fire way possible to put your body into starvation mode. When your body takes in less calories than it is accustomed to, it starts to stock-pile its calories into fat deposits, because it worries it will consistently get less than it’s used to.
None of your 8 tips address the one truly effective action: exercise. Rather than cutting calories to decrease intake versus output, one should instead increase output, while keeping calories at roughly the same. This means: exercise.
You can try the above tips without exercise, but it’s only going to increase both weight gain and body fat.
This is not to say that exercise is solely it; eating right does have some bearing. But it’s only when the two are combined effectively that anyone will actually feel healthy, much less see any results.
@ Comrade GoGo – Thanks for stopping by!
@ LisaN – eating more vegetables is great too. And thanks for the link to your post – very interesting!
@ Will – No misinformation here. Fewer calories in vs out means weight loss. It is simple, but as I said, it’s not straightforward. And do not worry, your body will not go into “starvation mode” unless you drastically drop calorie intake. None of the advice I’ve given would send you in that direction. Most of us in the first world don’t have to worry about starving, unless there is an eating disorder involved. But that’s a different issue.
Exercise is important as well – a more accurate title of this post should be “weight loss food hacks”. Exercise was a different post. I definitely agree that both are needed.
However I disagree that you need exercise to see results. If you could only choose one (for weight loss purposes), changing the way you eat is more effective than exercise. It’s less effort to not eat a 100-calorie cookie than it is to burn it off.
But yes, in the long run, including both is ideal.
Thanks for stopping by!
Just looking around me on the way to work in the morning I can practically feel the weight gain from morning coffees and bagels! It’s so simple but true: eat real food. Drinks are a killer for people. There are so many calories wasted on lattes. Tea is healthier, and cheaper!
I am wondering about your idea of eating a piece of fruit before each meal. Is that something you’ve had success with or advice you’ve been given by someone else? Some diets, like macrobiotics, warn against too much fruit in the diet (too much yin sugar), and limit intake to 1 piece of fruit every few days. Just a thought!
@ Michelle – You raise a good point. I think if you have blood sugar regulation issues, then a piece of fruit before every meal might not be a good idea (talk to your doctor). But I’ve actually found that fruit helps me keep my blood sugar steady. And it definitely stops me from eating unhealthy things AND from overeating during meals.
But, 10000 years ago we began our evolution into eating grains and pulses. For millenia before that, we ate lean meats (though not often) and foraged produce (fruits and vegetables). Our bodies are designed to eat that way.
Thanks for the comment!
im glad to know this post..arigatou gozaimazu:D
keep smile
[...] presents Simple weight loss hacks: keeping it real posted at Paradigm Shifted: There is, and has always been, one key element to weight loss. Forget [...]
Real simple fantastic advice, you are what you eat, many times over. You can heal yourself with proper diet.
Tonie
Libido and Health
[...] simple weight loss hacks: keeping it real [...]