How Much Are You Eating? More Happy Bdays!
Picture from Mallie's Sports Bar & Grill
OK, first, my happy bdays to family members. Happy birthday to Gail, my husband's ex-wife. Hope you have a great day & I am sure the crazy kids will want to make it special! And yes to all you out there, I get along fine with my hubby's ex-wife! Also, happy birthday to my niece, Jennifer! She is the daughter of my hubby's brother. A very smart kid studying at UCSD & is working on enviromental help for this world! I can hardly understand what she is studying, she is so friggin smart!
So, this week, being "that week" that people start a lose weight/eat better program, I really want to talk about the things that will help beginners lose weight along with the regulars continuing to stay on track and/or get past plateaus, I thought I would bring back this post with a few changes. I actually have posted this a couple times but it is always worth repeating because the studies show that people really have no idea how much they are eating per day! I am sorry for the repeat for my regular readers BUT this is great advice for newbies but also a healthy reminder to those that have been at it for a while, especially if you are one that says, "I don't know why I am not losing weight".
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. No matter where we go, there is some temptation! It is normal to feel stressed by this, especially when you are on a weight loss plan & have been losing & don't want to put it back on! We have to watch this ALL YEAR LONG because there is always some "special occasion".
Back in March, I did a post on special occasions. Here is a little tidbit of it: I just read a great article from Diet Detective on this titled Eat up -- It's Your Birthday. The author also counted up his own special occasions & this is what came out of that: "I made up my own roster of "special days," and the total came to about 50 per year. If I ate just 500 extra calories on those days (which is not hard to do -- it's about one piece of cake and a scoop of ice cream) that would be about 25,000 calories, or more than 7 pounds a year! Who would have thought that just "letting go" on a few "special days" could add up to so many pounds?"
NOW THAT SHOULD GET YOU RETHINKING SPECIAL OCCASIONS!
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 (think of all that stuff people bring in to work)! 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. Even if you "enjoy" & I think that is fine, you do have to stop somewhere and if you don't, just a few of these splurges non-stop may lead to an unpleasant surprise on the scale or the way your clothes fit. Enjoy, but do it mindfully. AND keep that exercise going no matter what - CONSISTENCY - even if you have to shorten it up or do 2 or 3 mini sessions in a day.
Challenge Yourself!
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. On The Today Show in December, I was listening to the Joy Fit Club & low & behold, MORE ABOUT NIBBLES! (I think you will all remember this post!) 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!
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. Also, studies show that people that log their food are more successful at their weight loss AND keep it off.
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!
I know I say this so often but it is so true! People are just not aware of their food intake and/or they fool themselves into thinking they are eating less than they really are eating. Just be mindful & be truthful with yourself about what you are eating AND PICKING at! You can get thru every day & special occasions fine & with no weight gain if you just pay attention & plan ahead.
PS: Kickboxing class today!
Great post! I will be passing along to some friends and family that are on the eat better/exercise/lose weight program.
Have fun at kickboxing and I'll be looking forward to your post.
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Thx Bethe. Hope your people can get use form the advice. Easy to say, hard to follow thru!
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I bagged my nibble for today! One lone cookie. In a Ziplock baggie. No friends it has.
My "food log" is actually listening to my body and being mindful of how it responds to certain foods as well as how much of it I ate.
My body is QUICK to let me know when I'm outta line.
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You go Josie!!! By the look of you in that pic doing planks, you are telling that bod to listen to you & you look great!
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In addition, a recent study on stated calories in foods at sit down restaurants, fast food places, and frozen entrées from supermarkets showed that the published calorie counts were MUCH lower than the actual calories in the food!!!
I have my saying, "People look like what they do," when it comes to diet and exercise. If you are not getting the results you want, change your behaviors. Jody will tell you how every day right here
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Dr. J, so true!!! I tend not to eat out that much. I may bring my own protein bar & eat fresh veggies or eat my protein first & have the fresh veggies there.
Also, once again, YES, if it ain't working, fix it! Thx Dr. J!
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Wow, Jody. You constantly pull out great info that's so applicable to what so many of us are doing and facing. For me, special occasions seem to crop up endlessly. Managing them and/or avoiding them is just about a full-time job. But I've learned that planning ahead, be it skipping a snack or doubling up on a workout, helps me balance the board and enjoy a little of the special times without blowing my weigh-in.
Good post!
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Jack, thank you! Yup, planning is the key for these special deals. It makes all the difference!
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Snacking is my problem. I will measure snacks, so I know how much I am eating, but still eat too many
Have fun kickboxing!!
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Lori, snacking is a lot of people's probs!
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This is sooo true! I know if I added up all the special occasions we celebrate it would be a lot! Thanks for the reminder to watch the nibbling, and the encouragement to keep track of food choices and portions. That's how I lost my weight!
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Diane, you done good!!!!!
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Ah man, I've been wanting to log my food, but I'm too lazy! I'll do great for three days, and then not bother, or simply forget. But man, I need to get on this. Thanks for blogging--I needed this reminder!
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Phil, I know, so many hate the logging & I understand. Once you do it for a bit & know what you are eating, then you can pull back although I do know of some that use it life long to keep them om track. You can always take cell phone pics of what you eat!
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I'm not much of a nibbler, but I do recognize that my portion sizes could be smaller. No new diets for me, I prefer long term changes too. I am starting 2 new exercise programs though, one is a running clinic I am finally able to re-join (I've been running on my own regularly) and I'm trying out the P90x program as well. Fun!
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Melanie, yahoo for long term changes! Liking that! Hey, I have always wanted to do that P90x. Looks intense which I like!
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When I was first creating my eating "plan", I knew I would need to allow for a once-a-month splurge meal to keep from feeling deprived. I considered it a nice coincidence that my family/friend special occasions work out to about one per month. While most restaurants we go to have something of the healthy variety I can eat, it's nice to have that "monthly splurge meal" available, just in case. Of course, the deal I made with myself was that I could only have the splurge if I was following my plan the rest of the time. So far, it's worked!
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Cammy, it is all about planning, isn't it! As long as we plan for it, all is good. That mindless stuff is where it catches up with us.
You have a great plan!
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I agree, people aren't aware of what they eat. Even people like me, who don't measure their food, aren't aware.
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Steve, you are doing great though with your plan.... you are definitely doing something right! I don't measure my food BUT I know the portion sizes for what I eat & I usually measure a new food out when I first start adding it to my food program.
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