Dieter's Digest

You ARE Ready to Lose Weight!

We all know that we gained weight because we ate too much, and sat still too long. Our "food pattern" or "diet", gave us more calories than we burned through activity and we stored the extra as fat.

But sometimes, we are dieting and not losing the weight. How can that be? There are several possible explanations to this dilemma. First, we must eat enough in the morning to startup our metabolic engine. Without food as fuel, our bodies love to conserve energy by maintaining a low metabolism. You would be surprised to find out how few

calories your body can maintain weight on, when it does not want to burn calories.

Secondly, we must become aware of what we are actually putting into our bodies. Foods we grab on the run can easily add 1000 calories to our day. Sampling the candy dish on our coworker's desk, tasting each pot while we cook,or a slice of cheese from the deli clerk all add calories that we don't seem to ever count. Sometimes when dieting, we substitute liquids for foods, thinking there must be fewer calories, but actually they can be very high. Test your beverages at:
MyFoodBuddy.com

Another source of hidden calories can be

your breakfast sandwich. At 700 calories and up, only the most active folks can handle that breakfast. How do you order your deli lunch sandwich? Extra mayo? Extra meat? Plus cheese and salad dressing? On a sub roll? Depending on how freely they use the mayonnaise, a sub can easily be 1500 calories.

Becoming aware of what you eat also includes regulating portion size. Our foods are so calorie dense that we can easily take in twice as many calories, as we think we are, simply by eating or drinking too large a portion. When reading the label, you may see 140 calories and think that's great. But what you missed,

was the fact that there are 2 or 3 portions in one bottle or package. Now the calories are 280 or 420. Snack foods often list calories which seem reasonable, until you read the fine print.

If your methods of weight control are not working, you really must write down everything you eat and drink for a while. Weight loss requires both food type control and portion control. Don't delay - start today! We can choose to get older each day or get better each day. Don't waste time; you are ready to lose now!