One of the reasons I wanted to start this blog was to share stories about how I've lost (and kept off!) weight over the last year and a half. And I did it not through crash dieting, but rather made a sustainable lifestyle change that involves delicious food :)
The number one New Years resolution made by women is to lose weight, which means that the January issues of women's magazines are always full of advice...some good, some bad, and some that just needs to be taken with a grain of salt. My January 2013 issue of Cosmopolitan was no exception. For their diet advice, they turned to Gary Taubes, who gave four pieces of advice. Here's my take on his tips.....
Rule #1: Stop counting calories
If my experience has told me anything, it is that counting calories works. However, this doesn't mean that a person should starve themselves between meals. That is, in fact, the wrong thing to do. Your body is a pretty smart thing, and if you're starving yourself in hopes of burning more calories than you consume in order to lose weight it's going to catch on fairly quickly. When you do something like this your body goes into starvation mode, and stores as much extra energy as it can.
The key with calorie counting is eating smaller meals more often. Breakfast, lunch, dinner...and healthy snacks in between. This way your body is never starving, and it will burn the energy that you eat rather than saving it for later.
Rule #2: Start paying more attention to what you eat
This is a very good piece of advice, though Taubes comes at it from a "eat fewer carbs because those spike your insulin"place. My take on this is: eat smart. When it's snack time, go for an apple or a granola bar instead of a bag of chips.
I would also recommend that you start reading the labels on the snack foods you consume. Specifically, look for where on the list of ingredients you find sugar...the closer it is to the beginning, the more sugar there is in the item. This is especially relevant to "good" snacks like granola bars and yogurt...and it's a problem because it means snacks that are high in sugar do not keep you satisfied for long.
Rule #3: Don't stress about the fat you eat.
This is true...but don't go overboard either. You need fat in your diet, but a little fat adds a lot of calories to a meal. Popcorn, for example is an extremely healthy snack: 1 cup of air-popped popcorn has about 35 calories, and it counts as a whole grain snack. But when you add butter the count goes up: there's about 100 calories in a single tablespoon of the stuff. And the same goes for olive oil...it might be better for your heart than some of the other options out there, but you still want to use it in moderation.
Rule #4: Avoid carbs and sugar
This is probably my least favorite diet tip, mostly because I love bread and pasta. So you heard it here first...you DO NOT need to give up carbs in order to lose weight.
The key is moderation, and making sure that whatever you're eating with your bread or pasta has enough protein to keep you satisfied. Carbs are digested quite quickly, which means that it won't take you long to feel hungry again after you've eaten. And, as was mentioned in rule #1, when your body finds itself starving it tends to hoard calories rather than burn them. To prevent this from happening, make sure to eat something that is high in protein or fibre when you are eating carbs...these things take longer to digest and help you feel full longer, meaning that your body isn't going to think that you're trying to starve it into submission.
Sugar is the same...moderation. You can't avoid it, especially since everything you eat is eventually broken down into this super basic energy source. But you can make sure to consume it in moderation, and this is what I was hinting at in rule #2. Read the labels, and buy things that have sugar as close to the bottom of the list of ingredients as you can.
Now that I'm done addressing Taubes' rules, I'm going to add one of my own....
Rule #5: Eat good food
There's this myth about dieting, and it's that diet food tastes like cardboard. Not true. There's also another myth, and it's that diet food requires all sorts of special ingredients and that it is hard to make. Also not true. Cooking for yourself is the easiest way to guarantee that you're eating something healthy, because you can control exactly what goes into your meal. And when you're eating things that you love, dieting doesn't feel like work.
Which leads me to the shameless self-promotion...I created this blog to share what I've learned since my big change. So keep tuning in...I've got some great posts lined up for 2013. Among them, time saving shortcuts, recipe makeovers, and the occasional splurge.
Because what's the point of a diet if you can't cheat once in a while?
The number one New Years resolution made by women is to lose weight, which means that the January issues of women's magazines are always full of advice...some good, some bad, and some that just needs to be taken with a grain of salt. My January 2013 issue of Cosmopolitan was no exception. For their diet advice, they turned to Gary Taubes, who gave four pieces of advice. Here's my take on his tips.....
Rule #1: Stop counting calories
If my experience has told me anything, it is that counting calories works. However, this doesn't mean that a person should starve themselves between meals. That is, in fact, the wrong thing to do. Your body is a pretty smart thing, and if you're starving yourself in hopes of burning more calories than you consume in order to lose weight it's going to catch on fairly quickly. When you do something like this your body goes into starvation mode, and stores as much extra energy as it can.
The key with calorie counting is eating smaller meals more often. Breakfast, lunch, dinner...and healthy snacks in between. This way your body is never starving, and it will burn the energy that you eat rather than saving it for later.
Rule #2: Start paying more attention to what you eat
This is a very good piece of advice, though Taubes comes at it from a "eat fewer carbs because those spike your insulin"place. My take on this is: eat smart. When it's snack time, go for an apple or a granola bar instead of a bag of chips.
I would also recommend that you start reading the labels on the snack foods you consume. Specifically, look for where on the list of ingredients you find sugar...the closer it is to the beginning, the more sugar there is in the item. This is especially relevant to "good" snacks like granola bars and yogurt...and it's a problem because it means snacks that are high in sugar do not keep you satisfied for long.
Rule #3: Don't stress about the fat you eat.
This is true...but don't go overboard either. You need fat in your diet, but a little fat adds a lot of calories to a meal. Popcorn, for example is an extremely healthy snack: 1 cup of air-popped popcorn has about 35 calories, and it counts as a whole grain snack. But when you add butter the count goes up: there's about 100 calories in a single tablespoon of the stuff. And the same goes for olive oil...it might be better for your heart than some of the other options out there, but you still want to use it in moderation.
Rule #4: Avoid carbs and sugar
This is probably my least favorite diet tip, mostly because I love bread and pasta. So you heard it here first...you DO NOT need to give up carbs in order to lose weight.
The key is moderation, and making sure that whatever you're eating with your bread or pasta has enough protein to keep you satisfied. Carbs are digested quite quickly, which means that it won't take you long to feel hungry again after you've eaten. And, as was mentioned in rule #1, when your body finds itself starving it tends to hoard calories rather than burn them. To prevent this from happening, make sure to eat something that is high in protein or fibre when you are eating carbs...these things take longer to digest and help you feel full longer, meaning that your body isn't going to think that you're trying to starve it into submission.
Sugar is the same...moderation. You can't avoid it, especially since everything you eat is eventually broken down into this super basic energy source. But you can make sure to consume it in moderation, and this is what I was hinting at in rule #2. Read the labels, and buy things that have sugar as close to the bottom of the list of ingredients as you can.
Now that I'm done addressing Taubes' rules, I'm going to add one of my own....
Rule #5: Eat good food
There's this myth about dieting, and it's that diet food tastes like cardboard. Not true. There's also another myth, and it's that diet food requires all sorts of special ingredients and that it is hard to make. Also not true. Cooking for yourself is the easiest way to guarantee that you're eating something healthy, because you can control exactly what goes into your meal. And when you're eating things that you love, dieting doesn't feel like work.
Which leads me to the shameless self-promotion...I created this blog to share what I've learned since my big change. So keep tuning in...I've got some great posts lined up for 2013. Among them, time saving shortcuts, recipe makeovers, and the occasional splurge.
Because what's the point of a diet if you can't cheat once in a while?
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