Basics of Weight Loss

To lose weight you need to burn more calories than you take in. It's as simple as that. It takes a deficit of 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound. There are all kinds of diets out there (low fat, low carb, etc...), but it really just comes down to what works for you that you can stick with.

How to know how much to eat to lose weight?
1. Determine the current amount of calories your body burns.

2. How much weight do you want to lose per week? Calculate: (# pounds to lose per week X 3,500)/7 = number of calories to cut per week.

3. Subtract these two numbers and that is what you should eat per day.

For example, let's say my body burns 1,700 calories per day. If I want to lose 1 pound per week, I need to cut 500 calories per day. That leaves me with 1,200 per day to eat.

Here is an online calculator.

Once you know how much you need to eat per day, you need to track this is some way. Whether you are tracking WW point or calories or something else...you need to track it! There are also many online tools out there to find out the calories of food items and many restaurants have calories listed on their web sites.

Here are some ideas for journaling tools.

1. Lose It is a free app for the iPhone/iTouch. This tool also calculates your daily target calories based on your goal and is very easy to use.

2. Free web sites such as FitDay

3. Excel either by building your own spreadsheet or using a free template found online

4. Pen and paper

What tools have you either used in the past or currently?

Weight Loss Tips

1. Journal. Write down everything you eat and drink. Be honest about what you are eating. You will only be cheating yourself.

2. Drink plenty of water. Thirst can be perceived as hunger so if you are hungry try having a glass of water first.

3. Fill up on fruits and vegetables. Have a salad, vegetables or fruit with every meal.

4. Eat small amounts frequently throughout the day. This will prevent you from getting too hungry and over eating

5. Limit alcohol. It is full of empty calories and reduces your inhibitions which may lead to overeating

6. Watch portion sizes. A serving of meat is the size of a deck of cards. A cup of rice or pasta is the size of a baseball.

7. Eat some protein with your breakfast. This will help you stay fuller throughout the day.

8. Ask for help. Ask the people around you (family, coworkers, etc) to help you by not tempting you.

9. Use a smaller plate so you do not feel the need to fill up a big plate.

10. Know your “red light” foods and keep them out of your environment.

11. Know your hunger signals. Eat when you are just starting to get hungry. Do not wait until you are starving. Stop eating when you begin to get full, not when you are stuffed.

12. Don’t deprive yourself. If you are craving something, have just a little, otherwise you may end up binging later.

Healthy Weight Loss

We want to focus on healthy weight loss in this contest. Please do not resort to things like diet pills, laxatives, dehydration, starvation or other extreme measures.

Healthy weight loss is 1% of body weight per week, a little higher in the beginning. So for most people that is about 1 to 2 pounds per week. Losing anything higher than this will make it difficult to keep off, so please don't be discouraged by losing "only" 1 or 2 pounds per week, because that is a safe amount to lose that you will be able to keep off.

Here is a funny example of what NOT to do. Season 5 of The Office started with the gang in a weight loss competition. Whichever field office lost the most weight would get 3 extra vacation days. Here are some quotes, that while funny, are not healthy.

Oscar: "All I've eaten today is a chicken breast and a case of diet coke"
Andy: "I have eaten since noon on Friday".

Kelly: (sweating and noticeably irritable) I'm on the third day of my cleanse diet. All I have to do is drink maple syrup, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and water for all 3 meals. I just bought 2 bikinis online.... I look amazing" (uttered with a distressed voice).

Kelly: I swallowed a tapeworm last night. It's going to grow to 3 feet inside me and eat all my food so I don't get fat. Then after 3 months I take some medicine and I pass it. I think it's from Mexico... Creed sold it to me.
Creed: That was no tapeworm.

Michael: I can't do this by myself people! Kelly and I are the only ones who have passed out or almost passed out.

Dwight: Here's what I'm going to do - I'm going to randomly select 3 people for liposuction. Let's see... Stanley, Phyllis and Kevin.

Phyllis: Are you insane!!! There was no client! Dwight drove me to an abandoned warehouse 5 miles away and pushed me out of the car.... I had to walk home with no purse and no money.
Dwight: And you burned a thousand calories!

How to Eat Take Out Every Meal

Some people are busy and don't cook, others just don't want to cook. It is still possible to stay within your target calories by eating take out every meal. This is based on CALORIES only and may not meet all nutritional goals (I know this isn't the overall healthiest way to eat).

Breakfast:

Starbucks tall nonfat latte - 100 calories
McDonald's Egg McMuffin - 300 calories

Lunch:

Chick fil-A grilled chicken sandwich - 300 calories
Chick fil-A side salad w/light italian dressing - 85 calories

Dinner:

Taco Bell 2 fresco crunchy tacos - 300 calories
Taco Bell pintos & cheese - 180 calories

Dessert:

McDonald's vanilla ice cream cone - 150 calories

There you go! Three meals and dessert for 1,415 calories.

7 Habits of Overweight People

Do you do any of these things? If so, try to make a change to one or two and see if it helps with your weight loss.

1. Overweight people use larger plates.
When offered two plate sizes, 98.6 percent of those with the highest BMI took the larger of the two plates to the buffet. A bigger plate tricks your eye into thinking you’re not eating as much when you stuff more food onto the surface—and into your mouth. Use a smaller plate, get a smaller belly.

2. Overweight people eat while looking at food.
Of those with high BMIs, 41.7 percent took seats that overlooked the buffet, instead of sitting in a booth or facing in a different direction. The sight of food tends to make our minds think we have more work to do, eating-wise. Keep your food stored in the fridge or stashed in the pantry, not out on the counter tops.

3. Overweight people eat with maximum efficiency.
While Chinese buffets offer chopsticks, 91.3 percent of obese patrons opt for forks. That just makes it easier to shovel in the food.

4. Overweight people clean their plates.
Of those patrons who were the heaviest, 94 percent cleaned their plates so there was nothing left. Ignore Mom’s advice—let a little linger, or take it to go.

5. Overweight people chew less.
Researchers actually monitored the chewing habits of the buffet-goers and discovered that the heaviest one-third among them chewed their food an average of 11.9 times before swallowing. The middle one-third chewed an average of 14 times, and the leanest one-third chewed 14.8 times.

6. Overweight people dive in.
The leanest people in the study typically took a lap around the buffet first, to plot out what they wanted to eat. But the more overweight group charged right in; doing so means you may fill up on some less-appealing items, then have to go back to snag that one nosh you have to have but missed the first time.

7. Overweight people skip breakfast.
A simple habit, but missing this crucial meal raises your risk of obesity by a whopping 450 percent! Start your day with some lean protein and fiber—which will jump start your metabolism and keep you full. (An egg sandwich is actually a great choice.)

Source and the entire article here.

Water Water Water

Everyone has heard that it's good to drink water. There are lots of benefits to staying hydrated, especially when you are trying to lose weight. How much water do you need? This varies, but a good estimate is to take your weigh in pounds and divide by two. This is the number of ounces you need to drink. So if you weight 150 pounds, drink 75 ounces of water, then increase if you exercise vigorously or if it is hot outside. How you say, am I going to drink that much??? It's really not that hard. Here are some tips.

1. Keep a bottle of water at your desk so it is always there
2. Aim to drink 8 to 16 ounces before each meal
3. Carry your water bottle with you everywhere
4. Start your day with a glass
5. Add lemon or lime if you want some flavor
6. Vary the temperature to what is comfortable
7. Make a bet with the person who sits next to you about who can drink the right amount for the most days in a row
8. Get a giant mug with a straw that you need to finish before going home each day (or maybe twice!)

Many of you have been complaining about water retention and being puffy. The best way to combat this is with MORE water.

Reward Yourself!

Reward yourself for your weight loss successes along the way to your goal. There is plenty to celebrate and it will help keep you motivated on smaller goals rather than thinking success is only getting to your final goal. Reward yourself for every 5 or 10 pounds or when you reach the 10% mark. However...don't use food as a reward! Think of other ways to reward yourself. Here are some ideas.

1. Get a massage

2. Buy a new outfit (that fits your new body!)

3. Buy yourself something you have been wanting

4. Plan a day with your family or friends (or by yourself) to do something fun that does not focus on food

5. Treat yourself to a manicure/pedicure or a new hair cut

6. Buy yourself some flowers

How to Eat 6 Times a Day on a Diet

Weight loss experts do not agree regarding whether you should eat more or less times a day, but here is an example of how to eat 6 times a day and still lose weight. I believe this is a great way to go because you should not be hungry at any point with eating 6 times a day.

Breakfast: Egg whites, fruit, 1 piece wheat toast

Morning snack: Yogurt (low sugar)

Lunch: Turkey sandwich on wheat (no cheese or mayo) and salad with low fat dressing

Afternoon snack: Fruit and string cheese

Dinner: Chicken breast, brown rice, steamed vegetables

Evening snack: Low fat popcorn or Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich (depending if you are in the mood for a salty or sweet snack)

This menu has plenty of protein and healthy carbs as well as fruits and vegetables. Adjust portions based on your calorie target.

Drinking & Dieting

Alcohol is full of empty calories and is best avoided while on a diet. It also lowers your inhibitions so you may make poor eating and drinking choices.

If you are going to drink, here are some tips to lessen the impact on your diet.

1. Avoid drinks with high calorie mixers such as margaritas or anything with cream, tonic, sweet and sour mix or cola.

2. Choose light beer or wine since these have the least amount of calories per serving (100 to 120). Note that restaurants tend to pour more than one serving of wine in a glass.

3. Use low calorie mixers such as diet tonic, club soda or diet cola.

4. Alternate between alcoholic drinks and water.

5. Avoid being hungry at a party because you may make poor choices. Eat something healthy before arriving.

Dr. Oz's 12 Best Diet Tips

Dr. Oz is best known as the Dr. from the Oprah Winfrey show, but now also has his own show and is co-author of YOU: On a Diet.

1. Clear out the pantry and fridge.

Sure, it is a little early for spring cleaning, but tossing out all of the junky snacks and drinks and any other noshables that might derail your diet plans helps put you in the right mind-set for eating healthfully and losing weight. “You’re taking out all of the things that tempt you and making it easy on yourself to do the right thing,” explains Dr. Oz.

2. Make simple substitutions.

If the idea of making over your entire diet just seems too daunting, relax. Ease in to better eating by making small changes that can yield big results, according to Dr. Oz. Let’s say you love juice in the morning. Drink cranberry or tomato rather than orange juice because they’re lower in sugar. Or, switch from soft drinks (even diet sodas) to water. Sure diet sodas have no calories, but says Dr. Oz, anything made with artificial sweeteners can trick the brain into thinking it’s real sugar.

3. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep.

Hard to believe that sack time equates with your waist line, but it’s true. People who sleep less than seven to eight hours a night tend to weigh more while those who turn in early tend to weigh less. One reason for that, says Dr. Oz, is that when we go to bed early, we simply have less time to snack after dinner. Some research suggests that you can knock 220 calories out of your diet simply by not staying up to watch late night TV. In addition, when we’re tired we also crave carbohydrates. That may be because we’re instinctively looking for quick energy sources, but also because when we’re tired and our willpower is on hiatus, we’re more apt to reach for the quick and easy comfort foods.

4. Don’t starve yourself.

It’s a classic dieter’s mistake — you must be losing weight if you’re feeling hungry. Nothing could be further from the truth, says Dr. Oz. In fact, when you’re hungry, your body actually fights your weight loss efforts. “If you eat too few calories, your brain senses the starvation and sends an SOS signal to through the body, telling it to store more fat,” he explains. “You keep your body from going into starvation mode’ by not under-eating.” How do you know if you’re under-eating? “Never let yourself get hungry,” counsels Dr. Oz. “When you don’t eat enough, you feel hungry, and you risk over-eating. Instead, eat evenly spaced, small amounts of food.”

5. Don’t beat yourself up if you “cheat.”

Hey, everyone occasionally has an off day, when, say the desire to eat a few … okay, 10… chocolate chip cookies gets the better of us. When that happens, says Dr. Oz, don’t brow-beat yourself. Instead, “recognize your mistake and recognize what let to your mistake, then get back on track.” Some of Dr. Oz’s quick and easy suggestions for getting back on the program — and feeling better about your progress: Take a five-minute walk, toss out a calorie-rich or otherwise unhealthy food you’re still holding on to (like the rest of that bag of cookies); write out your meal plan for tomorrow. “Doing something small and easily attainable, keeps you moving in the right direction,” he says.

6. Eat hot peppers for breakfast.

“When you eat spicy foods for breakfast, it reduces your appetite at lunch,” says Dr. Oz. It’s thought that spicy peppers (habanero, poblano, even red pepper sauce or red pepper flakes) affect the satiety center in your brain so you’re not as hungry later on. “It’s a big, robust taste that’s satiating,” says Dr. Oz. His meal suggestion: Slice hot red peppers into an omelet, or include them in a breakfast wrap.

7. When you’re hungry, drink some water.

Our bodies can’t always tell the difference between hunger and thirst because the hormones in our guts that tell us we’re hungry are very similar to the hormones that get produced when we’re also thirsty. “To figure out what your body really needs when you feel hungry, drink a glass or two of water,” says Dr. Oz. “If the craving goes away and you feel more satisfied, you have your answer.” If plain old water leaves you cold, try calorie-free fruit-flavored waters. The trick is not to add additional, and empty, calories with your beverages. “Your thirst center doesn’t care whether it’s getting zero-calorie water or a mega-calorie frappe.”

8. Eat with the TV off.

The age of TiVo and DVR, not to mention downloading your favorite shows from network and cable sites to watch later, means never having to worry about missing something important on TV, so go ahead and turn it off while you’re eating. People eat more when the TV’s on, explains Dr. Oz. That’s because when you get caught up in, say, Dancing With The Stars, you stop noticing what you’re eating and don’t recognize when you’re full.

9. Use smaller plates.

Having your meals on a salad plate, rather than an enormous dinner plate helps your weight loss efforts by tricking your brain into believing you’re eating more because smaller plates make regular-size portions look larger. When we believe we’re eating more, we tend not to overeat. Plus, when we use a larger plate, we’re also tempted to fill it up and clean it off. Research shows that we reflexively eat about a third more when food is served on larger platters or containers because we need that visual cue — the clean plate — to help us feel satisfied.

10. Look for ways to include exercise in your everyday activities.

You’ve probably heard it a thousand times: Take the stairs, not the escalator. Park at the far end of the lot and walk to the supermarket. Park at the opposite end of the mall from the store you’re shopping at. Instead of lunch dates, make a walking date with a friend or take the dog out for a long romp. Use the restroom that’s on the floor below yours at work. Walk around your office or take a walk during your break. These are all tricks for working exercise into your daily activities. “Every step helps,” says Dr. Oz.

11. Eat the same lunch every day.
Variety may be the spice of life, but it's also a contributor to weight gain, says Dr. Oz. He points out that when people eat the same thing for at least one meal a day, they lose more weight than people who mix it up. "It's easier to slip out of good eating habits when you try for too much diversity in every meal," he says. "By decreasing the variety of foods you eat throughout the day, you'll decrease the chance for the hedonistic rampages that can be so dangerous." In other words, limit your choices and it'll be easier to take off the weight. His trick: Find a lunch you like -- a salad with grilled chicken or vegetables or a pita stuffed with veggies and canned salmon -- and stick with it.

12. Snack before meals.
Mom was right. Pre-meal snacking will spoil your appetite. But when it comes to weight loss, that can work in your favor. For starters, having a small snack, say, a small handful of nuts, a small piece of fruit or a glass of water with a tablespoon of psyllium fiber mixed in, about half an hour before you actually sit down to eat your meal, helps to fill you up so you won't feel like eating as much once dinner is served.

Source

Restaurant Tips

Eating out can be a challenge when trying to lose weight. Don't be afraid to ask for what you want!

1. Split a meal with someone.

2. Ask for half of your meal to be packed to go before it is served.

3. Ask the waiter to not bring the bread/chips.

4. Ask for no butter or oil on vegetables. In general asking for no butter or oil on everything is a good idea. Did you know that Outback puts butter on their chicken???

5. Order dressing on the side. Dip your fork in the dressing, and then in the salad. Do not dip the salad in the dressing.

6. Order sauces and other high calorie condiments on the side.

7. Ask for fruit/vegetables/salad instead of french fries/potato/rice.

8. Look up the nutrition of a restaurant before you go so you have an idea what to order. Some of the caloric values of restaurant meals are higher than you would imagine. For example, the Southwestern Cobb Salad from Chili’s sounds like a good choice…wrong. It has 1,080 calories and 71 grams of fat.

9. Order an appetizer as your main dish (be careful with many appetizers though as they tend to be very high in calories).

10. Look for lean protein that is grilled or broiled.

11. Drink a glass of water before you start eating.

12. Start the meal with a broth based soup.

Fast Food Tips

We are all busy and sometimes there is just not enough time to cook. Here are some ideas of what to get when you are at a fast food restaurant.

Chick fil-A
Chargrilled chicken sandwich
Chargrilled chicken & fruit salad
Chargrilled chicken garden salad
Fruit cup

Subway
Any of the "6 grams of fat or less" sandwiches
Avoid cheese, mayonnaise and oil
Baked Lays or Light Lays chips

Pot Belly
Choose a lean meat such as turkey, ham or roast beef
Try the "thin cut" bread
Avoid cheese, mayonnaise and oil

Taco Bell
Any of the tacos on the "fresco" menu
Pintos & cheese

McDonald's
Premium grilled chicken sandwich without mayo
Hamburger
4 piece chicken nuggets
Any of the premium salads with GRILLED chicken & low fat dressing

Burger King
Whopper Jr. without mayo
Chicken tendergrill sandwich without mayo
BK fresh apple fries
Tendergrill chicken garden salad with light dressing

Note that this list is not exhaustive of all the diet friendly options. All of these restaurants have their nutritional information online so you can make informed decisions.

How to be More Active

Losing weight is all about calories in versus calories out. Here are some ideas on how to boost the "calories out" part.

1. Take the stairs instead of the elevator

2. Clean the house

3. Mow the lawn

4. Park your car farther away

5. Play with your kids

6. Take your dog for a longer walk or more walks

7. Ride your bike or walk rather than driving

8. Walk to see a colleague rather than making a phone call or sending an email/IM

9. Gardening or yard work

10. Take a walk after dinner instead of watching TV