| Being obese doesn't happen overnight. It often | | | | You'll find that after you use measuring cups for a |
| happens over years. Whether we realize it of not, it | | | | while, you'll be able to gauge how much a proper |
| is a combination of many factors all coming together | | | | food portion is. This comes in handy when you're out |
| that results in constant sustained weight gain. In | | | | at a restaurant. Take a look at the plate when it |
| simple terms it includes physiological drivers that | | | | arrives and push away those parts of the food that |
| cause us to eat, eating the wrong foods, eating too | | | | don't fit your portion sizes. |
| much food and lack of physical activity. | | | | * Serve your plates in the kitchen before bringing |
| Most weight loss surgeons will want you to | | | | them to the table. No bowls of food on the table to |
| demonstrate a commitment to lifestyle change | | | | get second helpings from. |
| before they perform surgery on you. Whether you're | | | | * If you do have a snack after dinner, leave the |
| preparing for surgery or you just want to break your | | | | food container in the kitchen. Bring only the serving |
| weight gain cycle, the info in this article will help you. | | | | size to your favourite recliner in your living room. |
| The 1st step in any change is to break the cycle of | | | | Move! Any Movement Is Good |
| your current habits. Often people are rooted in their | | | | We've all heard the message. Exercise, exercise, |
| existing routine and find it incredibly difficult to make | | | | exercise! I thought I'd scream if I heard that word |
| any kind of shift. Inertia keeps us in the same old rut | | | | one more time from my surgeon during my journey. |
| because it's easier to continue to do what we're | | | | If only it were that simple. Everything becomes 100 |
| familiar with. Add on the satisfaction and rush we get | | | | times harder when you're obese. Feet hurt, legs hurt, |
| from the physical and physiological drives that cause | | | | knees are excruciating, can't breath, heart rate is |
| us to eat, and you face an extremely difficult | | | | 200+ and feels like it's going to explode. Yes, |
| challenge. | | | | exercising is more fun than the morning after your |
| Great news! This challenge is not insurmountable if | | | | 1st mickey of Lemon Gin. |
| you use some simple techniques to help you shift | | | | Put that together with the sight of all the jiggling fat |
| your lifestyle to healthier choices. If you're pre-op, | | | | jogging past the neighbors window and you have a |
| demonstrating your commitment to sustained lifestyle | | | | perfect reason to hit the refrigerator, eat that piece |
| change will persuade your surgeon that you're serious | | | | of chocolate cake you've been hiding and go to your |
| and move you faster toward your surgery date. If | | | | bedroom for at least a week of depression |
| you just want to loose weight, then these | | | | rehabilitation TV watching. |
| techniques will increase your success rate. After all, | | | | Once you crawl back out of your bedroom, you're |
| the statistics through diet alone are pretty | | | | still going to have to increase you physical activity |
| disheartening, so anything that increases your | | | | some how. The simple reason is that more activity |
| success opportunity is a benefit. Right? | | | | equals more calories burned. Put it together with |
| Lets begin. We're going to look at the four main | | | | eating the right foods, eating the right quantities of |
| obstacles that prevent you from changing your | | | | food and you're close to a "knock it out of the park" |
| lifestyle and losing weight. We'll start with wrong | | | | winning home run against obesity behavior changes. |
| foods, eating too much food, physical activity and | | | | Lets take a look at some reality suggestions to "get |
| last but not lease physiological drivers. | | | | moving". |
| Wrong Foods - Making Right Choices To Change Our | | | | * Set yourself an exercise goal, but start with a |
| Diet | | | | reasonable one. Remember, commitment and sticking |
| Everything thing in the food industry today is driven | | | | to it is the single biggest success of your exercise |
| to get you to buy food that has high profit margin | | | | program. No matter what you do, if you're sticking to |
| on it. Even the lay out of the average super market | | | | your commitment, you're a WINNER! |
| emphasizes poor food choices. Guess what? All the | | | | * Don't join the local "10 Milers A Day Club". What |
| bad food for you fits this category.veg | | | | ever exercise you choose, start with 20 minutes 3 |
| Here are some specific tools to help you change your | | | | times a week. When you can do 20 minutes, increase |
| habits in choosing better foods: | | | | it to 30 minutes. When you can do 30 minutes |
| * Stay out of the center aisles in super markets. This | | | | increase the number of days to 4 or 5 a week. |
| is where most of the bad food choices are. It's also | | | | * If you can't walk, sit on a chair and move your |
| where you'll spend the most money. Try and shop | | | | arms, twist from side to side. |
| around the parameter of your super market (except | | | | * A stationary bike is a great tool as long as you |
| the bakery section - stay the hell out of there | | | | don't let it become a clothes hanger in your bedroom. |
| completely) | | | | * Walking is great, but most of us obese folks find it |
| * Don't buy "white" foods. This means carbohydrates | | | | too hard on our lower limbs. If you can walk, it's a |
| and includes potatoes, flour, fortified wheat products, | | | | bonus for you. Get out there and see the world! |
| rice, pasta, pizza, crackers, cookies. etc...you get the | | | | * Bike riding is another great activity. It's a lot easier |
| idea. All of these add pounds fast and provide little or | | | | on your lower limbs. Some of us however, are just |
| no useful nutrients. | | | | too large for bike riding. If you fit that category then |
| * Don't buy prepackaged foods and fast foods | | | | try.... |
| * DO buy and eat in this order - proteins (chicken, | | | | * Swimming! - Swimming is by far the best |
| fish & leaner cuts of meat are best), vegetables | | | | alternative for most obese people. It's easy on the |
| and fruit, preferable fresh. Frozen is the next best | | | | body, yet the constant resistance of the water gives |
| choice. Canned is not so good, because it usually | | | | you a great physical work out. Almost all public pool |
| contains too much salt and sugar. Deli meats are NOT | | | | recreation facilities have a swimming program for |
| considered a good choice of protein because of their | | | | YOU!.I know...you're think how awful you'll look in a |
| high levels of fat and nitrates. | | | | bathing suit. Been there, done that, still do. I found |
| * No junk food. It's in a center aisle to start with, but | | | | out that nobody cares or looks. Half the place is filled |
| once in your house, it's also one of the greatest | | | | with people who have the same problem as you and |
| temptations to browse/snack on. If you must have | | | | I do. I go to the "seniors fitness class"...not because |
| something to nibble on, pop your own popcorn. Use | | | | I'm a senior, but because the exercise program they |
| PAM vegetable spray as a topping and your favourite | | | | do is more suited to some one who is obese and has |
| spice/herb for seasoning | | | | a limited range of motion with lower limb aches and |
| * Shop often and only buy what you'll eat in 1 or 2 | | | | pains. Beside, there were a bunch of other |
| days. Our forefathers shopped every day. Mostly | | | | overweight people in that program doing exactly |
| because they didn't have minivans to carry 2 weeks | | | | what I was doing |
| worth of groceries and also because refrigeration | | | | Am I Crazy? If not, Why Can't I Control How Much I |
| wasn't available and you needed to buy only fresh | | | | Eat? |
| food. If you don't have 2 weeks of food in your | | | | If only we could answer this question. Who ever |
| fridge and cupboards, you can't snack on it in the | | | | does, will be a very rich person. I do think we're |
| evening. You'll end up eating fresher foods, it will cost | | | | crazy. At least I'm suspicious about me! Many of my |
| you less and of course you won't eat as much. | | | | friends and family have accused me of being mentally |
| * Stick to the 5/5 rule for any food you buy. Five or | | | | deficient...although that might be something different |
| less grams of fat per serving and five or less grams | | | | than mentally deranged. |
| of sugar per serving. | | | | All kidding aside, most of obese people got that way |
| Too Much Food - Size Does Matter | | | | because of some sort of internal struggle with their |
| Human beings are visual by nature. It's no accident | | | | own personal demons. Could be as simple as your |
| that marketing in the Fast Food industry over the | | | | mom to tell you to clean you plate or you might |
| last few years has steadily increased the portions | | | | have been seriously abused as a child. What ever the |
| size of their menus. Just look at the pictures and | | | | reason, before you can move on you need to |
| commercials. Every picture of a hamburger and | | | | address it. Most of us will need professional help. Here |
| french fries is deliberately staged to make them look | | | | are some tips to start you journey on discovering |
| as big as possible, dripping with fatty juice. People | | | | why you eat? |
| want "bigger". Super-size it! Increase the price and tell | | | | * Think back to the 1st time you remember being |
| the customers they're getting more for their money. | | | | fat. What was going on in your life? |
| It still annoys me even now after my surgery. When | | | | * Make a list of reasons you eat...be honest! Find a |
| I want a treat I'll got to the Golden Arches and order | | | | good friend you trust to go over your list. Don't ask |
| 1 chicken wrap with no sauce on it and a small diet | | | | for solutions. The idea is to just let you verbalize why |
| coke. Even though I can't drink more than that small | | | | you eat. |
| coke, the guy always asks if I want to super-size my | | | | * Find a Life Coach to work with |
| drink. Then I'll get 5 times the diet coke for only a | | | | * Talk to your doctor about wanting to address the |
| few pennies more than the cost of the small drink. | | | | reasons you eat and ask her/him for a referral to a |
| So lets look at some strategies that can help with | | | | good eating disorder councilor. |
| portion size of food we eat. | | | | * Ask for a referral to a physiologist or psychiatrist. |
| * Change you plate. Yep. This will make the biggest | | | | In the end, we all have to come to terms with who |
| difference on the quantity you eat. There is nothing | | | | we are and why we eat. Lots of people have |
| worse than placing proper sized food portions on our | | | | destructive behavior patterns. Some parachute out |
| traditional dinner plates. The food sits in a small pile in | | | | of perfectly good planes, bungee jump off of |
| the middle of a vast empty expanse of plate. I sear | | | | bridges, go mountain climbing or motorcross bike |
| some times the food looks like it's shivering in | | | | riding. People who eat too much food aren't the only |
| loneliness. Start using lunch size plates for all you | | | | ones out there who are dealing with life issues. I say, |
| meals. The portions you should be eating will fill the | | | | lighten up on yourself. Make today better than |
| plate and your eyes will think you're eating lots. | | | | yesterday and plan for a good day tomorrow. If you |
| * Start measuring. Get yourself a good scale and set | | | | do that, you're off to a great start on fighting your |
| of measuring cups. There is a BIG difference in | | | | obesity. |
| calories between a 12 oz steak and a 6 oz steak. | | | | |