For people embarking on a weight loss journey at the beginning
of the year, the middle of January can be a particularly difficult
time -- especially if having to lose weight is a brand new
challenge.
Gone are the honeymoon-style days where eating a salad with no
dressing seemed new and novel and even kind of fun.
Co-workers, who have all fallen off the wagon, try to convince you
to split a plate of nachos at Happy Hour as if their lives depended
on it.
And your kids wonder (out loud, repeatedly) when the new addition
of steamed broccoli will go back to being tater tots on their
dinner plates.
It seems like everyone around you wants you to go back to your old ways. But this doesn’t mean you have to throw in the towel.
Expert advice
Brittany Glassett, registered dietitian at Porter Adventist Hospital, has a few tips to keep in mind when setting -- and keeping -- new goals.
- Make SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely. For example, instead of resolving to “eat better,” make a goal to eat fast food fewer than three times per month.
- Write goals down and choose one or two to focus on at a time. Don’t get overwhelmed; once you’ve incorporated one or two changes into your lifestyle, pick another goal to tackle. Remember, it takes about three weeks to establish a new habit (at least).
- Break your goal down into mini-goals. If you want to lose 50 pounds, that’s a pretty big feat and can seem impossible at times. Start with a mini-goal of losing 5 pounds in the next month.
- Get support. Tell family and friends about your goal to help keep you accountable when temptation arises. Better yet, get them on the fast track to being healthy also!
- Plan ahead. Plan all of your meals and go to the grocery store on Sunday. That way you won’t get home from work with nothing to eat but delivery pizza. Also, schedule your workouts just as you would any other meeting.
Six changes
Along with these tips, Glassett recommends six small changes that make a big difference:
1. Choose more whole grains. All carbohydrates
are not created equal. Unlike refined carbohydrates (white bread,
sweets), whole grains contain heart healthy fiber and many vitamins
and minerals. The fiber will keep you full between meals to help
with weight management goals.
2. Add more color to your plate. Some of the most
colorful foods are antioxidant-packed fruits and vegetables. Try to
have at least three different colors on your plate (white, cream
and yellow don’t count!). Make a goal to try a new fruit or
vegetable every month.
3. Don’t skip meals, especially breakfast.
Eating small, regular meals (every three to four hours) will keep
hunger at bay and help you to make better choices at meal
times.
4. Don’t drink your calories. Soda, juice
and high calorie coffee drinks contain "empty calories" -- they
provide excessive amounts of calories without providing much, if
any, nutrition.
5. Replace vegetable oil with canola oil and olive oil in
your kitchen. Olive oil and canola oil contain heart
healthy monounsaturated fats whereas vegetable oil contains omega-6
fatty acids, a polyunsaturated fat, which are eaten in excess in
the typical American diet. Omega-6 fatty acids promote inflammation
in the body, which is associated with many disease states including
heart disease.
6. Keep a food diary. Even if it’s for one
or two days a week, studies have shown that those who have lost
weight and maintained it keep food journals. It really can be an
eye-opener!
