Weight Loss Survival - To Salad Bar or Not To Salad Bar

Salad Bar Survival

Not Every Salad BAR is Diet-Friendly

The infamous salad bar, available everywhere from work cafeterias to family restaurants, can round out a meal with a wholesome side dish, or be a meal all by itself. What could be more healthy and nutritious? Those vegetables and fruits can be loaded with a variety of nutrients, including beta-carotene, vitamins A and C, potassium, folic acid and fiber. The salad bar can also be filled with dangerous landmines, ready to blow your calorie intake to heck!

If you’re not careful, you can innocently fill that salad plate with items that add up to over 1,000 calories—more than a burger and fries or a steak and potato dinner!

Take the safe path and apply these strategies to avoid salad bar traps:

Use a smaller plate; limit the number of trips you make. THIS WORKS!
Start with the nutrient-rich dark green, leafy vegetables, such as spinach, romaine, and endive.
Fill up your plate with vegetables like lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, broccoli and tomatoes.
Power on the protein with legumes, beans, lean meat, turkey, and crabmeat.
Take only a small taste of the high-fat food items such as pasta salad, potato salad, macaroni salad, and coleslaw.
Go easy on extras like croutons, chow mein noodles, crackers, nuts, seeds, crumbled bacon, and shredded cheeses.
Dress your salad for success with 2 tablespoons of a low-calorie or light salad dressing, OR only 1 tablespoon of regular salad dressing. For a new taste twist try a splash of flavored vinegar.
If the salad bar contains soups, go for a broth-based version over a cream-style selection.
Allow only a small taste of the whipped topping-jello-fruit combinations.
For dessert, return to the salad bar for a small plate of fruit topped with a little yogurt or cottage cheese.

Measure Your Weight Loss with Skinny Jeans

Distress......Dissapointment........Anger........Disgust...........Giving Up!
Whichever you choose, these emotions are enemies of people trying to lose weight—especially when you feel like you have done everything right. For many trying to shed pounds, the elation from that initial weight loss is brought to a screeching halt when the scale stops moving.
But, instead of viewing this as a setback, look for other ways to measure your progress besides the scale. After all, good health isn’t always measured in pounds.

Everyone has hear the phrase "SKINNY JEANS"? No matter what size you are then next size down is YOUR "Skinny Jeans". I started my weight loss in a tight size 16..... booooo..... but the day I got serious about my weight loss goals I went out and bought a size 14! I invested in MYSELF!

When my size 16's began to get a little loose, they really were comfortable, I felt I was doing something. So I kicked it up a knotch and increased my exercises. When I saw the 16's bulching because they were reall loose. I PUT ON THE "SKINNY JEANS" Size 14!
Hot Dang! I then instantly ran to the closet and put all the size 16's (15 pair) of them into a bag, put them into the car, and took to a friend. Bought 2 more size 14's.

Now, the 14's getting bigger, I went and got a pair of 12's. Guess what, I now have 4 pair of "SKINNY JEANS" SIZE 12, the 14's......history. Next stop! Size 10!

So there are many ways to do this to motivate your self........
Losing weight usually involves a relatively simple calorie equation: burn off more calories with daily activity than you consume through food. So what happens when these numbers indicate progress, but the scale doesn’t? Before the aggravation sets in, consider why this might be the case. If you’ve been hitting the gym on a regular basis, participating in both cardiovascular and strengthening exercises, then chances are good that you have shed some fat. But the scale might not indicate this because you have also been building lean muscle.
Since muscle is dense (a small volume of muscle weighs more than the same volume of fat), the scale might not reflect your hard work. Think of it this way, 5 lbs of FAT is two full fists put together, 5lbs of Muscle is one full fist..... GOT IT?

Non-Scale Signs of Progress

I still believe that this method is the best, so start slow..... do not get discouraged!
See your results by taking a trip to your very own closet. Take out a pair of pants that fit snugly before you began your new, healthy habits.

Are you able to ease into them, when before you had to sit (or lie) down and yank them up your legs? This is a sure sign of progress toward a leaner you! What about an old shirt? Is it now a little loose around your waist or arms? Also look for improved muscle definition when you check out your body in the mirror. There are many everyday indicators that you are firming up your body, from how your clothes fit to sitting more comfortably in a booth or small chair.
Aside from weight, use other numerical signs of progress. When you first start your program, take measurements of your waist, arms, neck and hips. Even if you are not losing pounds, you very well may be losing inches all over your body as your figure slims down and tones up with muscles. Measuring your body is more reliable than the scale alone. Other numerical indicators include a reduction of blood pressure (Walmart has a very food blood pressure machine, use every time you are there and see the changes yourself) or cholesterol, heart rate, and body fat percentage.

Monitor how a healthy diet and regular exercise affects your energy levels. Not only will you be able to work out for longer intervals of time, but everyday chores will also become easier. Whether cutting the grass or simply walking up the stairs, these behaviors will come effortlessly. Think of all the daily activities you could use more energy for—grocery shopping, house cleaning, playing with your kids, and more. Pretty soon you’ll be training for your first 5K!
Lastly, be conscious of how you feel emotionally. You’ve been working hard to reach your goals. Hopefully, the hard work will come with a boost in self-esteem, confidence, and happiness.

Are you beginning to feel more comfortable in your own body? Work to build a positive vocabulary to stay motivated.

Just because the scale has stopped moving doesn’t mean that you’ve hit a plateau in reaching your goals. Don’t give up out of frustration—all healthy behaviors are well worth the effort. Whether it’s better sleep at night or more energy throughout the day, start listening to the signs your body gives you that all of your hard work is paying off.

SMILE! YOU CAN DO IT if I can!

Diets.....Diets......DIETS!

Diets......? No One wants to go on a DIET! Just the meer sound of that word makes me exhausted, frustrated and down right mad!

Why does everthing have to be about Diet? Why not something like Mike Kramer is talking about?

4 Keys To A Smart Nutrition Plan

D.I.E.T. -- By Mike Kramer, Staff Writer

Think of the word "diet," and what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Visions of joyless eating, piles of pale lettuce, bored taste buds, more pale lettuce, meals that would starve a mouse, and mounds of food labeled "Off Limits" and locked away, never to be tasted again. Oh, and lettuce.

In other words:
Don’t
Imagine
Eating
This

Boooring!
Deprivation diets, fad diets and taboo-food diets send the wrong message. Your body is not an enemy that needs to be beaten and starved into submission. Building healthy habits can – and should – be fun! This is a positive thing you’re doing, making yourself healthy and happy at the same time. Food was created for a reason. Each food has specific benefits and potential drawbacks. Even chocolate, in certain forms, is said to protect against high blood pressure and heart disease. On the other hand, if you eat nothing but grapefruits, you'll be loading up on certain vitamins, but missing out on a lot of other very important nutrients.

The key is balance. Too much of anything can hurt. But not enough of everything can hurt even more.How far do you think your car would go on watered down gas or without any oil? About 20 miles, probably. You’re no different. Deprive your body of what it needs and it’ll break down. The secret is to be conscious of the grades of "oil" and "gas" that you use. Some are more powerful than others, and help you run longer on less fuel.

To fuel your body for optimal performance while losing weight, SparkPeople strongly suggests

4 strategies to use when starting a weight loss program:
*Control your food portions. Who really needs "Biggie" anything? Use our easy guide to portion control.
*Make smart substitutions. Why not try mustard (11 calories) instead of mayonnaise (99 calories) on that deli sandwich? Who knows, you might even like it better. Compare calories in your favorite foods using this handy chart, and learn more ways to cut calories without deprivation.
*Focus on "power foods." High protein, high fiber, healthy fats and good carbs give you the most punch for your lunch. Here are over 100 foods that fit the bill.
*Watch your eating habits. Mindless munching, emotional binging, and twice-a-day trough feedings are sneaky habits that steal momentum and leave pounds. Overcome emotional eating with our 10-step action plan.

I can tell you that by following these 4 Stratagies I have lost 23 pounds easier than I ever expected to. It has made a difference in my energy level, the way I feel when I walk up a flight of stairs and when I slide on those 12 jeans instead of the chunky 16's.

Check into SparkPeople.com it is truly a wonderful site with a wealth of information.

Till next time!
Lisa T

Tae Bo - How It Came To Be

The History Of Tae Bo - by Liz Norman

Tae Bo is a fairly new cardiovascular exercise that combinesself-defense moves, aerobics, martial arts, kickboxing, dancing and yoga. Billy Blanks is the man who created this unusual and reportedly highly effective fitness program after noticing more traditional fitness programs were not doing the job. Tae Bo notonly burns fat, but also increases coordination and builds muscle. It also promises to actually be fun.

Billy Blanks himself is highly trained in Tae Kwon Do and Western aerobics. When he noticed how few women were present inany of the martial arts classes he attended in the early 80s, he concluded it was time to create a new kind of workout. One thatwould not only reshape a woman’s physique, but one that would boost their self-confidence as well. Of course, Tae Bo is meant for both women and men.

Billy Blanks created Tae Bo it was for the purpose of getting more people interested in improving their general health. In an effort to avoid users getting bored with the exercise, he borrowed from different types of exercises to create an intense workout which would be set to music. Tae Bo draws from kickboxing, dance choreography, self-defense punches,martial arts and stretching and holding from yoga. All this,along with constant aerobic movements is bound to increase your overall fitness and guarantee weight loss.