If you are at a plateau and are feeling like you want to throw in the towel, consider this….

1.  Has your exercise regimen improved? Try keeping an exercise log and witness, on paper, how your fitness has grown.

2.  Has your mood improved? Try keeping a log of how you are feeling emotionally.  It can be a simple symbol on your calendar or a paragraph of your day.

3.  Has your sleep improved?  A good night’s rest can mean more than any chocolate eclair can taste.

4.  Has your energy level improved?  Remind yourself of all those slumps throughout the day you experienced in the past.  The 3:00 pm low that a cup of coffee or a Snickers bar pulled you through.

5.  Have your food cravings lessened?  Or better yet, do you think about a crisp apple now like you use to about that bag of Doritos?  I suspect you are pleased to be fueling your body with healthy fare.

6.  Have your blood values improved? Has your blood pressure gone down? Have your anxiety levels reduced? Has your sex drive increased? Is your foggy mind now clearing?

There are so many ways we can measure the success of improved eating without stepping on the scale.  Think outside the box (or the scale) the next time you wonder if eating regularly spaced, moderate portioned, and wide variety meals are “worth” it.

The post Try These 6 Proven Steps to Lose Weight Faster appeared first on Innovative Nutritionist.

• • Plan your eating strategy ahead of time. Drink a glass of water and eat a little something before leaving home for that holiday party or dinner. Check in with your feelings about this gathering and decide who will be in control before you leave the house. Getting plenty of rest during the holidays will help you stay on track.

• • When you arrive to your holiday destination and get settled, take your focus to something outside of yourself. Look out the window at the snow, the clouds moving across the sky, the blush of sunset. Or listen to the sound of your children playing in the living room, a favorite song. Focusing on sensory input calms the mind, gets you back in your body and helps you stay present. It’s also a fast, simple way to break the chain of negative self talk.

• • If you’re presented with a holiday buffet, scope out your favorites before diving in, and eliminate choices you don’t really care about. Choose lower fat offerings such as shrimp with cocktail sauce, skinless grilled or baked chicken. Offer to bring a low fat appetizer such as colorful cut-up vegetables and dip. Don’t float around the buffet or the kitchen. After you’ve had your fill, find someone to talk to and focus on the conversation instead of the food. Keep your hands full with water.

• • As you load up your plate, watch portion sizes. A serving size of meat is 3 ounces, about the size of a deck of cards. If you’re having more than one type of meat, like ham or lamb, take smaller portions of each. Reach for the lighter pieces of meat; they have fewer calories and less fat than the darker ones. And make sure to take off the skin.

• • Fill half your plate with the green stuff: salads, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, asparagus, peas, or whatever. This may be the one day you get your allotment of vegetables in for the day!

• • Pass on the rolls and butter when they are offered. They may be hot and tempting, but we can eat those any old day. You really can do this!

• • Dressing is intended to be a complement to your meal. Aim for about half a scoop with a serving spoon if the dressing is filled with fatty meats (sausage and pork), or looks greasy or buttery. Better options would be dressings that look drier and have whole grain or cornbread, lean meat (or no meat), nuts (like almonds or walnuts), and lots of veggies and fruits (celery, grapes, cranberries, carrots, onions).

• • Limit gravy to one tablespoon, and keep it off other items beyond the meat. Let’s face it; there is plenty of fat on that plate without it! Cranberry sauce doesn’t contain as much fat or sodium, but it can be high in sugar, so limit yourself to 1/4 cup.

• • Now that your plate is full, decide to eat slowly and savor the flavors. Watch how others in the room are eating. See if you can figure out their relationship to food. Perhaps you could find one good trait about all those around your table. You may find the need for seconds has passed if you give yourself time to recognize that you are full.

• • One way to enjoy dessert without losing control is by sampling. Have one bite of pie, half a cookie and one small square of fudge. Find a friend or family member who will stick to the sampling rule with you. If you feel you cannot eat small amounts, choose one small dessert you will enjoy and forget about the others. Try a flavored cup of coffee or tea to curb the temptation for more sweets.

• • Pace your holiday drinking. Limit your intake to one to two alcoholic drinks for men and one drink for women. To reduce the amount of calorie-laden drinks you consume, drink a glass of water between each beverage and have a half-wine/half-seltzer spritzer. Or have a mock-tail. No one has to know what you are drinking.

• • Don’t be coerced into eating more when a well-meaning hostess encourages you to have seconds or thirds. It’s okay to graciously refuse by saying “Thanks. Everything is so delicious. I’m really quite satisfied!”

• • When it is all over, notice how good it feels to not be overstuffed. Enjoy the rest of the evening visiting with others, rather than feeling uncomfortable, or worse, falling asleep. Acknowledge your success. Make it your norm from here on out.

• • Be happy now. We think that once we get thin, or give up sugar we’ll be happy. The crazy thing is that it works just the opposite. Once you allow yourself to be happy, you’ll have a better chance of achieving your goals. Happy people are less likely to eat from stress, depression or anxiety. So, enjoy the ride.

• • If you do eat more than you planned, don’t beat yourself up. Just set your sights on eating moderately the next day.

• Step up the physical activity and keep moving through the holiday season. It can offset the extra calories and blow off some steam. Things like going for a family walk after each meal or shooting hoops, jumping rope or playing catch are good family activities. Make time to have fun.

The post 16 Tips to Enjoy the Holidays Without Gaining Weight appeared first on Innovative Nutritionist.

Portion control– The super-sized world we now live in has enabled us to pack the pounds on.  It is important to realize that you control what goes in your mouth.

Order the smallest and plainest foods on the menu

Select off the child’s menu

Share an entree with a friend

Buy portion controlled packaging

Be mentally prepared at buffets and potlucks – and Costco

Use smaller plates, cups and bowls

Measure the food you put on your plate for one week

Distractions– Eating amnesia is the act of unconsciously putting food in our mouth while doing other things. Make it a point to sit down and enjoy your meal, slow down and taste the food and feel the texture. Take time to admire the effort put into the preparation and presentation of the food you eat.

Never eat in front of the television, computer or while reading

Never eat in the car

Never eat while on the phone

When you’re eating — particularly when you’re snacking — leave out candy wrappers, peanut shells and other evidence of snacking so that your eyes can warn you about how much you have eaten

Chew gum while preparing dinner or other dangerous times

Eat only while sitting down with food served onto a plate

Availability– In cave man days, man had to work for his meal. Today you can obtain fast food from vending machines, drive through restaurants, and hotel mini-bars.  We find food in our office break rooms, gas stations, hair salons, and church functions.  Wage a war on the mindless grazing.

Keep dangerous foods out of your house

Fill individual plates at the stove, and leave the leftovers in the kitchen

With snack foods, pour a serving into a bowl rather than eating straight from the bag

Keep food off your desk at work

Keep food off kitchen counters

Make your car a food free zone

Planning- If there is not a healthy choice available, you will reach for what is handy. If you stock your pantry with only healthy, and convenient ingredients you can’t go wrong.

Spend a few minutes listening to relaxing music while cutting up vegetables for the week

Keep fresh fruits, low-fat yogurt, and cottage cheese available for quick snacks on the front of the shelves in the fridge

Keep on hand a good supply of whole grains, dried fruits and nuts, air-popped popcorn, rice cakes low sodium vegetable and bean soups, to incorporate into quick and  healthy meals or snacks.

Habits-  Highly palatable foods that contain sugar, fat, and salt are very reinforcing because they activate the reward center of the brain. The more you reach for these foods, the stronger the pull.  The goal is to change how you view food. You have to take the power out of the food by changing how you feel about it.  It’s all about learning new habits to replace the old habits.

Create new memories of enjoying healthy food.    What does a juicy strawberry actually taste like?

Eat when your body tells you to instead of what your clock is saying

Eat when you are hungry only. Food cannot fill an emotional hole

Eat slowly.

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