TIP of TUESDAY: Stock your kitchen for success!

Losing weight is simple math, burn more than you eat, we hear it said all the time. Hopefully by now, you have an exercise program, if not, stay tuned, I'll introduce you to one tomorrow. Many of you however, feel that losing weight is not simple...it is...it's just not easy.

Deciding to lose weight means you have to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, break old habits, get disciplined with laser-beam focus on the goal. It means you are going to need to exercise (unless you like that skinny flabby look and you might, but if you want toned, defined arms, abs, legs, you're going to want to work out...and it's worth it.)

It means you have to plan ahead and follow through with great lean, healthy choices. One way to really set yourself up for success is to have your kitchen stocked for success.

I challenge you, get a bin & fill it with all the foods from your cupboards/pantry that are high in fat and sugar. Yes, throw the Kool-Aid packets away, get rid of the chips, the candy, the sugar-covered cereals, the cookies/cookie mix, etc. GET RID OF ALL THE FOODS THAT TEMPT YOU. Bag up all the stuff in your fridge, regular soda, ice cream, cheeses, bacon, etc. and take it to the homeless shelter. (They're starving, they need the extra calories, right?)

Now, go shop for healthy foods. What is 'healthy'? Buy stuff that is around 100  a serving. Find some whole wheat bread that's not loaded w/ nuts and fat. Buy 2 cases of water, your body needs it!  Here is a quick list of the foods I buy at Costco every 2 weeks:

• Water
• 4 - 10 lb. bags of chicken (2X/mo.)
• mini-bagels (use as toast, w/ my sandwiches - only 110 cals. per bagel)
• sandwich THINS
• 3 - 18 pks. of eggs (always try to have an 18 pk. boiled up to snack on, no yolks)
• light tuna (hold the mayo)
• almond milk (40 cals. per serving)
• low-fat cottage cheese (I use mine as spread on my toasted bagel, sprinkle some paprika...yum)
• frozen & fresh veggies (broccoli, green beans, spinach salad, mushrooms, baby carrots, etc.)
• apples, bananas, pears, strawberries
• brown rice (eat only 1/2 cup cooked rice to stay around 150 cal./serving...not a full bowl of rice!)
• low carb, high fiber whole wheat torts (one of my faves: 80 cal. per tort.)
• 4 lb. bag of blueberries

(Costco is where I shop, they are not paying me to say this. Although we watch what we eat, I buy it in bulk because we eat a lot.)

Take this list, go to Costco and you'll have food for weeks (depending how many in the fam eats this stuff). But this list is our staples in my home. Sometimes I find something else that's fun and healthy to try, but hopefully this list can help you.

So with a pay day on the horizon, create your list (or use this one) and plan to go to Costco and buy up some healthy foods to stock up your kitchen for success!

Tuesday's Tip on Dropping the Weight!

In my mind, the simpler something is the more likely you'll do it, right? I know a ton of people who want to lose weight, yet they don't know where to start.

First, you can start by NOT eating the bad foods. You know what they are: fried foods, sugary drinks, sugary/dessert foods, empty carbs (chips, a ton of bread out to dinner), and super fatty foods (pizza, buffets, burgers (double double cheesy heart-attacks to go), and the giant burritos filled with sour cream, cheese, rice, beans). These are just a few things to eliminate at the start. If you stop eating these kinds of food (stop eating fast foods so much), you'll start dropping weight immediately.

Let's say you've done this part. Let's say that you have eliminate the obvious bad food from your life. But the scale is no longer moving. What do you do next?


MEASURE OUT YOUR FOOD! This is so easy. It's easier than you think. Get a 1/2 cup, and 1/4 cup measuring cups, as well as 1 tablespoon & 1 teaspoon.  These are the ones you will use most often. Most beans, rice, cottage cheese, yogurts can be scooped out w/ the 1/2 cup since that is the typical serving size. (Nonfat plain yogurt is 1 cup for 120 calories.) You've got to scoop the food out anyways w/ something, right? Just read the 'Nutrition Facts' and scoop out your food to what the label says is a 'serving size' with your measuring cup.

MEASURE OUT YOUR CONDIMENTS! Yes, mayonnaise, bbq sauces, salad dressings - look at your labels, you'd be suprise at how much of that stuff you are actually using. When you start measuring it out, you will immediately begin to use less right from the start. Most condiments have a 2 tbsp. serving size. When was the last time you measured out Peanut Butter? 2 tbsp. of PB = 190 calories. Wow, huh? And you know you ain't only been eatin' 2 tbsp. :)

READ THE LABELS. Read the labels of food you eat at home. Look at the Nutrition Facts and start measuring out the food to the 'serving size'. And for now, just make a mental note of the calories you're eating. Also pay attention to the fast food menus. They are now posting the calories to meals. Pay attention that they will read something like: 450-990. The 450 is the sandwich only, the 990 is the meal. 990 calories in one meal? Wow, stop eating that, and you'll change your life!

Last week I talked about a food log - a log of what you're eating. I didn't want to overwhelm you with too much at once. Hopefully you started writing down what you ate. Did you do it? Did you become aware of what you were eating? That's what a simple food log does. Writing down what you eat helps you see what you are putting in your mouth. I want YOU to know what you are eating. This alone will make you conscientious and you'll probably start making better choices!

Now this week, I want you to start eating a 'serving size' of your foods! This is where 5th grade math is important! You will be doing fractions, adding them, cutting them in half. But I want you to get over it & just start eating the 'serving size' of food! Can you do it? If you have the goal to "Lose Weight", then this is a great way to start controlling the amount of food you eat!

Write your current weight down on a calendar and then start measuring your food right away. If you begin to eat a regular 'serving size' of your foods and condiments, (minus the fatty fast food type meals) - you WILL lose weight!