10 Diet Motivation Tips
10 motivational tips to keep your diet on course and avoid being tempted by high fat, high calorie foods
1. Plan ahead
If you’re going to a party straight after work, eat something before you go so that you don’t dive into the nearest plate of snacks when you arrive. Go for something filling, such as a sandwich or a bowl of wholegrain cereal with skimmed or semi skimmed milk.
2. Chose wisely
If you haven’t got time to eat before the party, chose your snacks carefully. Breadsticks are a great choice but watch out for those dips. An average portion of houmous contains 6g fat and 90 calories compared with the same amount of taramasalata that has 25g fat and 250 calories.
3. Drink a glass of water
If you haven’t got time to eat and want to resist snacks totally then drink a glass of water to help fill your stomach and keep your hunger at bay.
4. Sugar free gum
Chewing gum tends to stop you from nibbling bits of food while you’re cooking. It might not look very sophisticated when you have guests but it could just save you from overeating, and let you enjoy your meal.
5. Stock up on dried fruits
Dried fruits are low in fat and high in fibre. A good handful also counts as one of your fruit servings for the day.
6. Out of sight, out of mind
Keep temptation at bay when you’re at home. Don’t stock up on high fat snacks such as nuts, crisps or mince pies if you can help it. Otherwise, keep them out of sight or store them in an awkward place so they’re difficult to reach. If other members of your family want them they’ll have to get them down themselves.
7. Watch the alcohol
Although alcohol contains no fat, a small glass of wine can set you back 132 calories. To keep the calorie-count down, try alternating wine with mineral water.
8. Be ruthless
Don’t leave bowls of unfinished snacks lying around chuck them out as soon as your guests have left. Remember a few handfuls of crisps could add up to 25g of fat.
9. Make your own
If you love dips and can’t bear to eat breadsticks naked, why not make your own low fat dips? One of my favourites is a chilli bean dip. Whiz up half a can of red kidney beans with a raw onion, a garlic clove and a red chilli, add a dash of lemon juice and a good pinch each of cumin, dry mustard and salt. A good portion contains just 0.5g of fat.
10. Don’t waste calories
If you really want something then have it. But save your calories for the things you really want and don’t just eat things because they are there. During a meal or buffet only eat the things you really like and make your plate look fuller by piling the veggies high.
1. Plan ahead
If you’re going to a party straight after work, eat something before you go so that you don’t dive into the nearest plate of snacks when you arrive. Go for something filling, such as a sandwich or a bowl of wholegrain cereal with skimmed or semi skimmed milk.
2. Chose wisely
If you haven’t got time to eat before the party, chose your snacks carefully. Breadsticks are a great choice but watch out for those dips. An average portion of houmous contains 6g fat and 90 calories compared with the same amount of taramasalata that has 25g fat and 250 calories.
3. Drink a glass of water
If you haven’t got time to eat and want to resist snacks totally then drink a glass of water to help fill your stomach and keep your hunger at bay.
4. Sugar free gum
Chewing gum tends to stop you from nibbling bits of food while you’re cooking. It might not look very sophisticated when you have guests but it could just save you from overeating, and let you enjoy your meal.
5. Stock up on dried fruits
Dried fruits are low in fat and high in fibre. A good handful also counts as one of your fruit servings for the day.
6. Out of sight, out of mind
Keep temptation at bay when you’re at home. Don’t stock up on high fat snacks such as nuts, crisps or mince pies if you can help it. Otherwise, keep them out of sight or store them in an awkward place so they’re difficult to reach. If other members of your family want them they’ll have to get them down themselves.
7. Watch the alcohol
Although alcohol contains no fat, a small glass of wine can set you back 132 calories. To keep the calorie-count down, try alternating wine with mineral water.
8. Be ruthless
Don’t leave bowls of unfinished snacks lying around chuck them out as soon as your guests have left. Remember a few handfuls of crisps could add up to 25g of fat.
9. Make your own
If you love dips and can’t bear to eat breadsticks naked, why not make your own low fat dips? One of my favourites is a chilli bean dip. Whiz up half a can of red kidney beans with a raw onion, a garlic clove and a red chilli, add a dash of lemon juice and a good pinch each of cumin, dry mustard and salt. A good portion contains just 0.5g of fat.
10. Don’t waste calories
If you really want something then have it. But save your calories for the things you really want and don’t just eat things because they are there. During a meal or buffet only eat the things you really like and make your plate look fuller by piling the veggies high.
How to lose Weight - The basics of Weight Loss
To lose one pound of fat, you must burn approximately 3500 calories over and above what you already burn doing daily activities. That sounds like a lot of calories and you certainly wouldn't want to try to burn 3500 calories in one day. However, by taking it step-by-step, you can determine just what you need to do each day to burn or cut out those extra calories. Below is a step by step process for getting started.
- Calculate your BMR (basal metabolic rate). Your BMR is the amount of calories your body needs to maintain basic bodily functions like breathing and digestion. This is the minimum number of calories you need to eat each day. Keep in mind that no calculator will be 100% accurate, so you may need to adjust these numbers as you learn more about your own metabolism.
- Calculate your activity level. For a week or so, keep an activity journal and use a calorie calculator to figure out how many calories you burn while sitting, standing, exercising, lifting weights, etc. throughout the day. Another, easier option is to wear a heart rate monitor that calculates calories burned. After a week, add your totals for each day and average them out to get a general idea of how many calories you burn each day.
- Keep track of how many calories you eat. For at least a week, enter and track your calories online (e.g., with Calorie Count) or use a food journal to write down what you eat and drink each day. Be as accurate as possible, measuring when you need to or looking up nutritional information for restaurants, if you eat out. After a week, add your totals for each day and average them out to get a general idea of how many calories you eat each day.
- Add it up. Take your BMR number and add your activity calories. Then subtract your food calories from that total. If you're eating more than your BMR + your activity calories, you're at risk for gaining weight.
Mary's BMR is 1400 calories and she burns 900 calories with regular exercise, walking around and doing household chores. To maintain her weight, she should be eating 2300 calories (1400 + 900= 2300). However, after keeping a food journal, Mary finds that she's eating 2550 calories every day. By eating 250 more calories than her body needs, Mary will gain about a pound every 2-3 weeks.
This example shows how easy it is to gain weight without even knowing it. However, it's also easy to lose weight, even if the process itself can be slow. You can start by making small changes in your diet and activity levels and immediately start burning more calories than you're eating. If you can find a way to burn an extra 200 to 500 calories most days of the week with both exercise and diet, you're on the right track. Try these ideas:
| Instead of... | Do this... |
| An afternoon Coke | Drink a glass of water. (calories saved: 97) |
| An Egg McMuffin | Eat a small whole wheat bagel +1 Tbsp of peanut butter (calories saved: 185) |
| Using your break eat sweets | Walk up and down a flight of stairs for 10 minutes (calories burned: 100) |
| Hitting the snooze button | Get up 10 minutes early and go for a brisk walk (calories burned: 100) |
| Watching TV after work | Do 10 minutes of yoga (calories burned: 50) |
Total Calories Saved: 532 (based on a 140-pound person) How Much Exercise Do I Need?
Exercise is an important weight loss tool, but how much you need varies from person to person. The guidelines recommend at least 250 minutes per week, which comes out to about 50 minutes, 5 days a week. If you're a beginner, start small, for example with 3 days of cardio for 15-30 minutes, gradually adding time each week to give your body time to adapt. Learn more about getting in shape and getting started with exercise.
Source:
Donnelly, J.; Blair, S.; Jakicic, J.; et al. Appropriate Physical Activity Intervention Strategies for Weight Loss and Prevention of Weight Regain for Adults. Med & Sci in Sports & Ex: Feb, 2009. Vol 41, Issue 2.
Sydney Client Relationship Manager Nadia Ribeiro, 26,
recalls the moment that kicked off a health overhaul that would see her
lose nearly 30 kilos.
9:44AM, Jul 17
In June 2010 I was 24 years old, and weighed around 90 kilos.
I had been trying to lose weight ever since I was a kid, but due to a
few medical issues, I couldn’t get my weight under control.My boyfriend at the time (now fiance) was a real snow bunny, he and his family made trips almost every season. When I was eventually invited along, I was immediately anxious – I knew there wouldn’t be ski pants big enough to fit me. I made up some excuse as to why I couldn’t go, and my now family-in-law were hurt. They thought I just didn’t want to hang out with them.
That situation got me to point where I thought ‘I can’t put this off forever.’ I didn’t want to go through my whole life not being able to buy pants or show my knees. And I knew that someday I wanted to go to the snow with my fiance and his family!
I decided to go to the personal trainer my boss was seeing, Natalie Carter (newoutlookfitness.com.au). Nat didn’t want to talk about exercise or food at the start, first she wanted to get to the bottom of the emotional side of my health problems. When I was growing up, people always commented on how stunning my sister was, and would make comments to me like "You’re so pretty, if only you weren’t so fat" or "It’s hard with such a pretty sister isn’t it?" I had never realised how much that had subconsciously affected my self-esteem. That was the first time anyone had ever linked my past and my emotions with my weight.
I started training with Nat. We exercised outdoors in the fresh air, doing a combination of cardio and weights. I used mainly my own body weight as well as medicine balls and kettle bells.
Nat also helped me to completely change the way I looked at food. I stopped buying any food items that said 'diet' on them, and eliminated virtually all processed food. I ate a very natural, organic and clean diet – lots of grilled chicken salads and vege soups!
I’ve now lost 26 kilos, and want to shed about five more. I've suffered a knee injury along the way which has slowed things down, but I haven't used it as a 'get out of jail free card' to stop– I just do my weights sitting down on a bench. There's no excuse for not doing it!
I’m so glad I lost weight this way – not on some shake diet. Those programs don’t teach you anything about balanced eating – as soon as it’s over you just go straight back to your old habits.
Life is so much better these days. I’m just more confident. I used to feel ugly every day, but now people will give me compliments and it feels so nice. It’s changed my relationship with my fiance because I’ve come to realise that low self-esteem is not a turn on! Even though my partner loves me and has always told me I'm beautiful no matter what size I've been, a relationship is affected when one person feels crap about themselves. Now that I’ve got more confidence there's a different side to our relationship, it's more fun. We're getting married in August!
More CLEO health: Secrets of the super fit
A Healthy Diet for Your Article Body
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Our Own Article Body Pyramid
You fuel your body with foods from the food pyramid, like grains, fruits and vegetables and, really, your articles are no different.
It takes a steady diet of high-quality keywords, originality and portion control, along with several other elements to build and maintain a health article body.
Unfortunately, just because most of us know the keys to a healthy lifestyle, it isn’t any easier to resist the temptation and take the easy way out by resorting to eating junk food and limited exercise. The people that are the best at maintaining a normal weight get there by genuinely changing their lifestyle.
Again, this is no different in the article writing world. In today’s video, I’m going to share the six parts of our own Article Body Pyramid to help you keep up a healthy article writing style. Plus, I’ll go a little more in depth to help you understand what each of the six parts mean.
Downloadable Versions:
Here are the parts to our Article Body Pyramid from the video:
- Quality, Original Content – The average web surfer
is looking for unique and informative content, so give them just that.
We’re talking about your “Grade A Top Choice” expertise shared through
unique tips, techniques and analysis. This builds credibility. The more
quality information you feed your articles, the stronger they become.
- Deliver on Your Promise – Fill your article body up
with content you promised in your title. For example, if the title of
your article is “5 Tips to Change a Flat Tire,” give five tips to change
a flat tire in your article body. Not three tips, not four tips … five
tips. Anything short of that expectation will confuse your audience and
result in a poor reader experience. So, make sure your article body has a
good helping of what is promised.
- Spelling and Grammar – This also includes proper
punctuation, capitalization and sentence structure. There’s no faster
way to lose credibility with your readers than publishing an article
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get one first impression, so load your article body up with proper
English and cut the gristle.
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Make your articles easy to read and don’t assume everyone thinks like
you or knows what you know. Just because you know everything in your
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lingo as well. Also, try and write for a global audience. As you write,
imagine someone from a different culture is reading your article. This
will help you avoid verbiage that could be misleading to part of your
audience.
- Portion Size – Your article body needs to be the
right size. Not too big and not too small. According to the
EzineArticles Editorial Guidelines, the body must be between 400 and
5,000 words. We recommend 400 to 750 words as the ideal, healthy size
for your article body. Feed your article too many words and it may
become full of unnecessary information. Feed it too little and it’ll be
starved for content.
- Keywords – Keywords are like vitamins, they turbo charge your body. They help with search optimization and ensure your article stays on topic, but use them sparingly. For every 100 words, your keyword may be repeated only twice. Aim for only one, but if you have valuable content, you will be allowed to use two. To avoid writing articles that sound keyword dense, read your entire article aloud before submitting it. This will give you a chance to step back from the piece and observe the way the words work together. If it doesn’t sound right, make some changes.
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