Thin Blog

Here comes the New Year, whether you are ready or not!!  Also in the back of your mind, whether you realize it or not, are the impending New Year’s resolutions for losing weight.  Losing weight is a great idea but chances are you have been on that bus stop for weight loss a few times already and now you are starting to think that you need a new approach for weight loss.  You are thinking that you are a failure at trying to lose weight and are wondering if you will ever be able to achieve weight loss.  Let us be the first to tell you that a New Year’s resolution to lose weight is a great thing but it will only be effective by proper planning and motivation.

Before you begin your journey to weight loss there are some things you need to do and we are not shy about advising you on a few facts.  We want to recommend to you two simple and low cost products that you can use to help you on your path towards health.  There are three steps we want you to follow and the first step is free.  The first thing we want you to do is go to the parent website of this blog which is IChooseThin.com and look through the articles because they have been a labor of love and are full of information.  You need to be on a new road for weight loss and that road needs to be built with knowledge.  At I Choose Thin there is page after page and story after story about weight loss.  What you need right now is an education and that education is what is going to propel you all the way to you becoming a thinner person.

After you have gained knowledge you really need to think about looking for a support group for your journey through losing weight.  Whether you have the support from being on the ranch at The Biggest Loser or only having your German Shepherd to go on walks with, a support system is a tremendous benefit.  We at I Choose Thin have no way of knowing if you have a support group in place and if you do then we encourage you to use that support group and use it to the fullest advantage you can get.  If you are like so many others in the world that feel you are alone and have no help then you have come to the right place.  We are so fully committed in the belief that an anonymous way to gain support is through the internet with an organization called eDiets.  Joining will help you gain knowledge and “speak” with people to learn about different diets and support groups that are available through eDiets.  The eDiets organization is huge and you can be as active or as anonymous as you desire to be.  The one steadfast thing about eDiets is that they offer you a support system that can help you with your weight loss journey.

The final item for your weight loss journey that will help you make some distance down the weight loss trail is the use of a journal.  By journaling you will gain insight to how your weight is affected by different foods or moods or exercises.  You can use a plain old notebook but we, being the computer geeks we are, really recommend a simple to use program called FitDay.  Through the use of FitDay you are setting up yourself for an easier weight loss journey.  The program is fairly simple to use and the output you receive will be something that motivates you even more as the diet evolves into success.

Knowledge, eDiets and Fitday are tools that you will be able to use for your journey towards releasing that thin person that resides inside.  Stop wasting your money on diet pillsand unused gym memberships and start using some tools that will allow your New Year’s resolution to become a reality.  Make this year the last year you make a weight loss resolution.

It is that time of the year again and since last years New Years resolutions did not work out all that well…let’s try to make this year somewhat better.  The first thing that is recommended is that you skip the resolutions and simply try to get through this holiday season with the least amount of damage to your waistline, as possible.  Many of my readers that follow this have lost a great deal of weight using Medifast and they have asked what is the best way to keep the weight off for the holiday season.  The advice for the festivities that are upcoming is essentially the same as for any other time of the year.

A person can lose weight on a diet, or a meal plan, but the fact of the matter is that you can’t spend the rest of your life on a diet.  Whether you have had weight loss surgery, lost your weight using Medifast or are simply trying to just not get much fatter over the holiday season…the advice is the same.  If you are looking to enjoy the holidays and yet not gain too much weight, follow the suggestions listed, and explained, below.

• Go Ahead and Eat!
  To understand obesity, a person should realize that to gain (or lose) one pound there must be 3,500 calories involved.  One big meal will not cause weight gain.  In order to gain a pound, the average person must eat 500 extra calories every day, for a week.  If you want to celebrate for the holidays, just make it a celebration WITHOUT the plural.  If you just have to have “the big meal” and all the fringe stuff…then plan on doing it all in one day!  You do not have to surrender for the entire holiday season like a whipped puppy.  Plan on enjoying the one big meal and then cutting back to a more sensible routine the very next morning.  Do not have days of stuff left over in the fridge.  Do not turn your one big meal into a week-long pig-fest excuse.  The problem isn’t the one big meal, it is the turning of the entire holiday season into one mega-meal.  Plan now, and stick to it, while including some of the follow-on tips below.
• Skip the Candy
  Plan on NOT eating candy from all the desks and tables at work during the buildup to all the parties and festivities.  look at all the candy in anticipation for your date with food.  Since you know you are going to enjoy your one big meal full of treats, just plan on skipping the candy and think of it as “flirting”.  Treat the candy as if it is simply part of the big rendezvous ahead with food.
• Don’t Skip Meals
  Do not starve yourself before venturing out to the one big meal event you have planned.  If you do not plan ahead, you will simply be planning on over eating.  At the start of the big day eat like it is any other day, and before you head out to the party, have a snack.  A high protein snack, like peanuts or cheese helps you feel fuller for a longer period of time.
• Back away from the table!
  Most people with over-eating issues want to sit near the buffet.  Plan on not doing this, for the obvious reasons.
• Choose the right foods
  Focus on vegetables and lean protein foods first.  They will not only fill you up faster, they will not make as bad a dent on the belly.  Baked turkey and broccoli is a great starter that will get you full sooner.  If you hate broccoli, then move on to some other vegetable of choice so you are sending quality calories to the belly first, and foods high in protein are proven to fill you up faster, which will help you eat less of the food that is just plain fattening.
• Use the 9″ Diet
  The 9-Inch ‘Diet’.  This diet is simple and effective, but does not get the attention it should be getting.  When you approach the buffet line, grab a salad plate for all your food selections.  By simply having a smaller plate, you will eat less and that will slow you down, which gives your stomach a chance to tell your brain that it is full.
• Eat Slowly
  You know you eat too fast.  Put the fork down between each bite.  Slow down!!  It takes time for the food to get to the stomach and for your stomach to tell your head it is full.  Eat slow to allow for all the messages to get where they need to go.  Pay attention to how fast you eat…it is really a pretty simple concept, but very, very elusive to so many obese people.
• Drink water
  Do not drink your calories.  Drink water,  or some other unsweetened beverage, but not booze.  Sugary drinks are the fastest way to gain weight and if you do not want to gain weight…why on Earth would you drink your calories?
• Brush your teeth
  If you feel as if you are losing control, make sure you can brush your teeth.  A quick trip to the bathroom to brush one’s teeth is a simple way to break the spell that so many people succumb to when it comes to over-eating.  Clean teeth and fresh breath signals to your body (and mind) that you are done eating.

The holidays are not meant to be a stressful time, so try not to make food another object of stress.  Simply plan ahead and do as little damage as possible.  Plan ahead and come January 1st, you just might not need to make a resolution.