Little Nibbles, More Pounds!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Once again, first things first - HAPPY BIRTHDAY JERRY (in the pic)! Jerry is my son-in-law. He is married to my oldest stepdaughter & they are the mom and dad of the granddaughter that paid that great compliment to me about wanting to be "healthy & strong" like Nana! Jerry, hope you enjoyed your bday even though I know you are headed back to work today... UGH!












OK, Little Nibbles, More Pounds!

I know that you all know that picking at food thru the day or while you are cooking can add up to pounds on the body. BUT, I have been reading a lot on the blogs about people concerned about holiday parties, work parties, family gatherings, food at work or for that matter, everywhere you go!!! It is normal to feel this way, especially when you are on a weight loss plan & have been losing & don't want to put it back on! Heck, we have to watch this ALL YEAR LONG!

Like I always say & many others as well, your best bet is to PLAN for what is coming at you.. whether it be a party or food just laying around everywhere! You have to be prepared & also decide what you do & do not want to eat, how much you do or do not want to splurge.

I thought I would bring back an older post about how nibbles can turn into way more. Even if you "enjoy" & I think that is fine, you do have to stop somewhere and if you don't, by the new year, you may have an unpleasant surprise on the scale or the way your clothes fit. Enjoy, but do it mindfully. AND do try to keep that exercise going right thru the holidays into 2010 even if you have to shorten it up or do 2 or 3 mini sessions in a day.

Challenge Yourself! (you may want to print & save for the new year too BUT don't wait until then to start your healthy life! Today is the time!)
So you are not losing weight, your clothes are tighter or you just hit a plateau. You don't understand because you are sure you have been eating good & exercising. Well, here is an old post that is part of my scale busting tips.

First a story. Back when I first wrote this, my youngest stepdaughter told me about how they had these little pieces of chocolate in her salon & she thought, "hey, these can only be 15-20 calories each so I can have some". Well, after eating them for a couple days, she decided to read the label and got "label shock"! She had not realized how calorie & fat dense they were.... leading me to my point.....never ASSUME because we know what happens when we assume! If there is a label, read it & know what you are eating Also, portion control. Know what a portion size is before you end up ingesting 3.5 servings vs. 1 serving. Many do not read the label & often ASSUME it is 1 serving when it really is MORE!
 
Many people think they know what they are eating, they think they are correct about the portion size, they are sure they are only eating so many calories per day... BUT, most studies prove this is false! "Most people underreport what they eat – in fact, we can underreport the amount of food we eat in a day by as much as 45 percent. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey,about 18 percent of the men and 28 percent of the women surveyed were underreporters. In another study, researchers showed participants nine restaurant entrees, which they classified as ranging from “very unhealthful” to “more healthful,” and provided them with brief descriptions as well as serving-size information. The participants were then asked to estimate the calories and nutrient levels in each of the entrees. What the researchers found is that the underestimation of calories increased as the entrees became increasingly “unhealthful.” On average, less-healthful items were underestimated by more than 600 calories.  The bottom line is that you're probably eating more than you think. Take a look at this article, What You Get for the Calories, and see if you're surprised by how many calories you get for what you're eating."

Here is the challenge:

So, you say that you are doing everything right and the scale will not budge. Hmmmmmm, I wonder if you are playing the "fooling yourself" game. Yes, many people hit that plateau but there are those out there that know they are fooling to themselves & don't want to face the truth.

Are you logging your food? If not, as much as you may hate to do this, it may be a real eye opener. It is fact that a lot of people miscalculate how much they are eating. Most people say they are eating less than they really are on any given day or week.

Do you measure your portions or do you just wing it? Well, winging it can add to extra pounds every year! 3500 calories equals 1 pound so just eating 100 calories more each day than you burn off can add up to 10-11 pounds per year! (100 x 356 days=35600 calories. Divide that by 3500 calories)
 
HERE IS THE CHALLENGE FOR 1 MONTH: 

1. Log your food. Just try it and see if it provides answers to why the scale is not budging.

2. Portion Control. When you go to eat, put the food on the plate or in the bowl you are using. Then BEFORE you eat it, take it & measure it out.. portion control! So, have you been totally wrong about how much you have been eating? Is that portion you put down on the plate prior to measuring it way more than you thought? Is that an "AHA" moment!!!

3. Bag your nibbles. I have posted about this before. I saw this on The Today Show a while back. One lady found out she was eating 1000 calories more each day than she thought! What she did was carry a large ziplock bag with her & every time she went to nibble on foods she was cooking, or eat the french fry off someone else's meal, or take a bite off the kids plate, or take a piece of candy from the co-worker's candy jar or grab 2 or 3 of those samples at Costco ( you see where I am going with this), she put it in the ziplock bag instead of eating it. A real awakening about what you are truly eating!

Hey, today, December 14th, 2009: I had The Today Show on while I was cleaning up. I was listening to the Joy Fit Club & low & behold, MORE ABOUT NIBBLES! The lady that lost the weight was a fast food eater AND was "NIBBLING" off her daughter's plate every night by eating 1 chicken nugget & a few french fries. This added up to 110 calories & 5.5 grams of fat. At the end of the month, she had eaten 3300 extra calories just from nibbling!!! Almost a pound a month from NIBBLING!

OK, take the challenge & then see if that scale moves downward. It may be hard mentally but it will be worth it at the end of the challenge! Let me now how it goes!

Does any of this sound familiar?  Are you picking at certain foods during the day that may add up to more calories than you think? Again, I am not saying that you can't enjoy thru the holidays or otherwise. I am just saying to be mindful & be truthful with yourself about what you are eating AND PICKING at! You can get thru the holidays & every day fine & with no weight gain if you just pay attention & plan ahead for your ENJOY times.

Posted by truth2beingfit at 12/15/2009 1:00 AM
Categories: Tips, Weight Loss

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