Natural Weight Loss

Feel Good About Yourself: So many times, the taste of food is substituted for a feel-good sensation. Rather than allowing food to make you feel good, feel good about yourself. Whether it's that head of beautiful hair you have or the way you play a mean guitar, start purposely seeking things that compliment yourself. Other personal feel-goods include: the sound of your laugh, your perky personality, your level of patience, your ability to design or sew or knit or repair cars. RIGHT NOW, think about YOU. Think about all the wonderful things that make you, YOU. Putting yourself in a positive light sets the stage for natural weight loss.

Trade-In Comfort Foods for Other Personal Feel-Goods: When we're having a bad day, a Mexican fiesta, a bar of chocolate or a fluffy milkshake generally makes the day seem better. The trouble with most comfort foods is that they are extreme in calorie content. Given such, the next time you need a Mood-Unwinder, opt for a good book, a great movie or an uplifting conversation with one of your favorite people. Rerouting our moods is a natural way to fight off the desire to bury ourselves in the folly of comfort foods.

Batter Up!: Activity naturally produces weight loss - as long as the individual doesn't compensate the extra activity with extra calories. Discover OR rediscover a sport that you can't wait to play such as anything involving a ball or any of the following suggestions: skating, swimming, shooting hoops, jumping rope, walking, hiking. Getting family or friends involved can 'up' the level of enjoyment. Grab a set of horseshoes next time you visit your local super-mart or a volleyball game or a dart board. And YES, it is okay to put a picture of your mother-in-law or naughty boss in the bull's eye area. Work out that stress - naturally!

Sight- The next time that you go outdoors, take a look at the sky. Notice the colors, the shape of the clouds and the position of the sun. Feel great about just being alive!

Touch- The next time you dress, notice the feel of the fabric of your clothing. Is is silky? Smooth? Does it have texture?

Sound- When listening to your favorite song, pause to listen to the words of the song. Hear the different musical instruments playing in the background. Notice your mood. Does it match the message in the song?

WEIGHT LOSS DIET PLAN

Surprising foods that may trigger weight gain.

When weight gain pops to mind, thoughts of ice cream and cookies pop to mind. Our list of foods that can pack on pounds in a heartbeat may hold some surprises.

One Potato, Two Potato

Some of us have the capability of creating a Spud Missile when it comes to the old potato bar. Sour cream, bacon bits, grated cheese, cheese sauce and butter pack flavor and can pack on pounds in a heartbeat. But that doesn't mean that we need to leave our spud naked - we just need to revise our way of thinking. A solitary spud for meal time which has been 'properly' dressed is actually a very healthy meal guest. Try using low fat sour cream, zero calorie butter spray, and opt for grated cheese over cheese sauce unless you plan to measure out the goo. Same with the bacon bits - please measure up so you won't measure out.

Beverage Enhancers

Coffee and tea contain zero calories but once we run amuck with cream, whipped topping, sugar and syrups - the calories can topple one large mountain as well as the goat feasting on the side of the mountain. When possible, enjoy coffee, tea and other beverages 'in the raw'. When adding flavor, flavor wisely such as measuring out creamer and using a sugar alternative.

Salad Fixins'

It's easy to turn a simple healthy salad into a vicious dietary tornado by adding a few ingredients: salad dressing, croutons, bacon bits and shredded cheese. The trick in keeping weight gain at bay while still enjoying a beefed-up salad is to add just a bit of each, which of course means taking time to measure serving sizes until you become a pro at 'eyeing' out servings. Using low calorie salad dressing can chop calories in half. And in some cases - such as with cheese, just a small teaspoon works well in adding flavor to the salad without adding pounds to the weight scales.

Infant-Sized Snacks

A piece of hard candy here and a whip of licorice there can really add up throughout the day. Just say 'no!' to drive-by snacking and plan to set aside at least two snack times during the day which include healthy choices such as fresh fruit, low fat cottage cheese or a lean protein snack such as jerky.

Will You Please Marinate Me?

All those titillating sauces that we dump on our meat and veggies can blow the dial completely off our weight scales. BBQ sauce, sweet 'n sour sauces, steak sauces and so forth can be hefty when it comes to calorie content. The good news is that most are fat-free. It's the sugar content that gets us. When possible, opt for additives that won't beef-up the calorie content such as spices and extra low calorie sauces which pack powerful flavor for minimal calories. Examples include: Worcestershire Sauce, hot sauces, salsas and soy sauce just to name a few.

In Summary

Many times weight gain can be triggered by the things that we top our foods and beverages with rather than the "original" foods we choose. Therefore choosing what goes on top OR inside our foods is vital in keeping the Weight Gain Fairy off our backs and off our scales.

Although measuring foods can be a pain, it's more pleasant to measure foods than it is to measure for larger clothing sizes. Measuring foods keeps them within their recommended serving sizes - and helps us keep within ours too! And don't forget to measure the beverages.