Winter weather encourages less physical movementwhen what your body needs is more. Getting into that little, strapless dressfor spring events may seem daunting after a couple of months of couch potatolife. Never fear, I have ideas to help.
First,keep moving every chance you get. Walk, take the stairs, go to the gym; just keepactive as much as you can every day. Second, monitor your food intake. Caloriesin and calories out is the rule for whether you gain or lose daily. There aresimple things you can do to improve your odds. Take smaller portions and putthem on a small plate so it looks like you are getting more. Eat high fiberfoods to help you fill up and stay full while needing to eat less. 30 grams offiber a day is recommended. Check the fiber content of what you eat and lookfor ways to increase it. Not only will it make you feel more satisfied but italso decreases your risk of cancer, heart attack, and high blood pressure. Easyfiber-full suggestions include eating oat bran instead of oatmeal, snacking onraisins and nuts, trying almond butter on wheat or rye toast, and eating brownrice instead of white.
Next,drink more water throughout the day and have a glass before each meal so youwill feel full sooner. Avoid eating before bed; in fact try to go to bed alittle hungry every night; but not enough to hamper sleep. Remove all sugarysodas or drinks from your diet and keep desserts occasional. Alcohol is loadedwith calories so if you are partaking, factor that into your daily calories. Todetermine your daily caloric needs, see the resource table in the sidebar.
Besure to get enough sleep. When sleep deprived, the body experiences morepsychological stress and stores fat more efficiently. When you are tired youtend to grab more food to make up for the lack of energy.
Lastly,keep track of your progress by weighing yourself once a week or every twoweeks. Some people keep a food journal to track calorie intake but see whatworks for you and stick with it. Change your life in ways that you can continueto maintain, that way when you do lose weight you will keep it off.
LaurieMirda has been teaching Group Fitness for over 16 years at local gyms includingFitness First. She teaches yoga, boot camp, Body Pump and cycling and hasmultiple certifications in the field of fitness. Contact: [email protected]
