Disclaimer: by no means am I a dietitian, I also have not consulted with one.

But I can only tell you what worked for me to lose 30 pounds.

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Restrictions

Before I started I was a frequent customer to both my local convenient store and fast food joints.

Put an end to that!

That extra weight will shed from your rear-end and transfer to your wallet. win-win!

Do not drink your calories. Do not be fooled by those 0 calorie products. They have hidden calories from all that sugar- that sugar turns to fat in your body.

Water is your new best friend.

These were the only restrictions I put on myself- everything else I ate, I kept.

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Don’t Diet – Be Mindful of Calories 

I don’t like vegetables… I love the “meat and potatoes” lifestyle. Meat and grains are my favourite food groups!

So how could I still enjoy eating and lose weight at the same time. I mean, I didn’t want this to be a “fad diet” or something I was going to do for a short time. I wanted this to be a sustainable lifestyle change. And the only way I would be able to sustain it is if I was still enjoying what i was eating. I mean I LOVE TO EAT; I cannot be one of those people who look at food as fuel. Food is comfort, food is a social facilitator , and food is …well DELICIOUS!

So that was when I had my revelation, if I watch my calories I can still have home-made burgers, pasta, and snacks!

So, I researched how many calories with my BMI (age, gender, and weight) I should be eating to lose weight.

and I was successful with 1,200-1,400 calories with workouts.

This means you have to start looking at the nutritional values on the back of the products you buy at the grocery store. If you don’t know how to read them, do some research. The main important values are: Serving size, calories, fat (trans), and sugar.

But as you will soon find out your calories will go much further if you eat better, so i started adding the vegetables i would actually eat to my eating habits such as carrots, peas, corn, lettuce, and cucumber.

You also feel better during a workout when you eat better.

So slowly your tastes begin to change. You actually begin to enjoy different tastes (like me with vegetables i never liked before) and hinder your craving to those meals that make you groggy and slow- and therefore workouts harder.

It’s all about the baby steps of change.

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How I Handled Cravings 

low-calorie snacks!

You know what… they aren’t the best nutritionally, but they are a guilt-free way to satisfy my cravings.

low-calorie is the new advertising ploy, as a result there is basically aisles full of low-calorie snacks. (I can hear the dietitians of the world screaming “Nooooo!”) But my favourites were granola bars and goldfish crackers- I have frequent salt cravings. But for all you sweet-tooths out there, fruit can subdue your urges for sweets with natural sugars!

At the end of the day when I’m watching my recorded television programs, i like to munch.  Two of my favourite new munchies are:

A peanut butter lollipop- that’s a glorified way of saying a spoonful of peanut butter. It is salty-sugary-goodness that has a high protein content that helps you feel full. It is the perfect “fix.”

Another good munch food while watching a movie is popcorn. 3 cups of air-popped popcorn (NOT popcorn in a bag!) with two tablespoons of margarine is 200 calories. Fool Proof!

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Tricks and Tips

When I first started watching my caloric intake, I found it quite difficult but let me pass on my tricks to you.

1. Eat every 3-4 hours.

You won’t get hungry and therefore you won’t binge eat on something bad. Also you keep your metabolism working throughout the day. If you don’t eat for long periods of time, your body goes into storing fat mode to anticipate the next lull period between meals. You want your body to be using the fat on your body not storing more.

Also if you don’t eat for a long period of time, your body obviously gets hungry and you have a higher likelihood of binge eating!

2. Don’t Skip Breakfast!

 Not eating is going to put you into fat-storing mode; I mean you haven’t eaten in more than 8 hrs. Get your metabolism moving right in the morning. Even if you don’t eat breakfast usually, add something small to your coffee routine such as an apple, peanut butter toast…just something to wake your metabolism up!

3. When eating high caloric meals …split it!

Whether you are eating out at a restaurant, split the meal. Me and my man would order something together then just split it. I mean restaurant serving sizes are completely out of whack anyway. The average meal (without appetizers or desert) is 1,200 calories. Therefore when you split it, you consume the more reasonable 600 calories.

But high calorie meals are enjoyed at home as well. I know some of my dishes I always make are  roughly 800 calories. So what do i do? I split it, time wise! I eat half now and the other half 3 hrs later. I’m still eating the same amount of calories but because I split it up, I won’t get hungry later.

4. Snack!

Cravings and Hunger can throw you off track. So satisfy them the smart way.

Your eating every 3 -4 hrs that doesn’t mean they all have to be the same size meals all day. You can eat a larger meal, and three hrs later have a little 100-200 calorie snack such as an apple (75 calories- apples have been known to be natural way to help wake yourself up without caffeine), granola bar (100-200 cal), nuts (200 cal- both granola and nuts help make you feel full) …these were some of my favs. Find what works for you!

5. Don’t eat three hours before bed

Three hours before bed, your body has enough time to digest the food you have eaten. If food isn’t digested before hand, it turns to fat. It’s that simple. If you just cannot make it… like I can’t sometimes….I eat a low-calorie,easy to digest snack: Peanut butter. I spoke of this gem already- It helps makes you feel full to make going to bed easy.

6. Eat on Smaller plates

Ok, this one might be my most silliest. But todays plates are huge, and don’t represent what a proper serving size should be. Therefore you fill up your plate, and you essentially over-eat. So instead I use the smaller plates that come with a set and i fill that one to the max.

That way it doesn’t feel like I’m not eating anything compared to what i used to (while gaining weight!)

7. Don’t drink your calories!

Sugary pops or juices just are not worth it. As i said before water is your new best friend. I would SO rather use those calories for a snack then a favoured drink.

8. Alcohol Beverages

Most nutritional information and dietitians will tell you to remove alcohol from your lifestyle. AND…I just said not to drink your calories …But I’m giving information to the average woman like myself, and let’s face it…I’m not giving up my cocktails.

So…

Vodka tonic with lime is the drink with the lowest caloric value.

Your welcome. 😉

9. Lastly, workout!

You will never get the results you want if you don’t workout.

It burns those calories.

It keeps your metabolism working.

When you research how much calories you can eat with your BMI. Whether you workout or not and how often.. will be a factor.

You can eat more if you workout because you burn more calories!

Who doesn’t want to eat more?

 And when you finally hit your goal weight- you can enjoy much more! If you continue to maintain your muscles, that means you burn more calories. Meaning you can eat more compared to someone who doesn’t workout. The good thing is it takes less working out to maintain muscle then to gain it.

Did I lose you?

Look at it this way:

If you workout you lose weight faster. And later to maintain your weight: you can work out less and eat more!

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