After Lesson 2, you should have the basic tools necessary to see how you lose weight. This lesson will discuss ideas that will let you start your weight loss when employed correctly.
Your Tools
From previous lessons, you should now have in your kit the following tools:
- A personal pyramid for nutritional health
- The numerical value of your basal metabolic rate (BMR)
- Your overall caloric need depending on activity level
- The "play" room or difference between your lower and upper limits to calories
What to Do
It is imperative that your diet follows the "play" calories rather closely. Assume a normal meal in moderation to be about 600-700 calories. Your nutritional intake must fall within these limits to achieve the success you are hoping to see in your weight.
Many people will adopt a calorie counting system. They can be very beneficial to see where you are overeating, and where you are lacking in your nutrient levels. Be strict with your intake in the beginning of the process, by not going over your upper calorie limit.
When you feel your body is ready, take little steps to reduce the amount of calories by 50-100 from your upper limit. Reduce the total amount of calories consumed for a week at a time before dropping another 50-100 calories. This will help your body to adjust slowly to the missing energy.
Tips
Eating Out
It is common with our busy work and home schedules to eat out. This can be very expensive, especially when it is done multiple times each week. If you eat away from home, or are not bringing a lunch with you, reduce the amount of times you go out to find a meal.
Do not eat out more than once each week, and if you can, reduce this number to once every two weeks. This may be hard at first to control, but you can do it. It is as easy as bringing a sandwich, fruit or a salad from home.
Portion Size
When eating out or at home, eat half of what you are served or half of what your stomach wants. Save the rest for later to be used as a small snack or leftovers for your next meal.
Over the years, meal portions have been exaggerated to contain more than 1500 calories in a sitting! That is almost equivalent to your BMR, and if you were to eat this three times a day, you would definitely not be meeting your goals.
Just when your body feels satisfied, it is OK to stop eating and put the remainder away for another meal. There are times when I literally eat only half of each item on the plate to ensure I have not exceeded my allotment of energy for the meal. One way to accomplish this is by using smaller plates than normal. Less food will fit, but your mind will see the plate as full nonetheless.
Multiple Meals
Another option is to eat up to six meals per day. This does not mean six big meals of 600-700 calories each, but small snack like sittings. They should contain approximately 300 calories and be eaten every 3-4 hours.
An example would be carrots or fruit and then a few hours later, a small sandwich. Remember, it is crucial to stay within your calorie needs, not wants.
Eating this many meals like this will keep your energy high throughout the day, and let you constantly stay on top of the urge to eat more.
The Biggest Meal
Most people tend to have more energy during the middle of the day. Their bodies, too, will burn more energy at this time of day suggesting the need for greater nutritional intake.
Make lunch your largest meal of the day. We are accustomed to eating a large dinner, but as the day becomes night, our bodies burn energy slower. We ultimately store remaining energy as fat and must work extra hard the next day to compensate.
If you are hunger before napping or sleeping through the night, eat light foods in minimal amounts. As you sleep your body will use less energy, which means the extra calories must be stored.
Summary
Over the next month, try a few of these tips to lessen your appetite, prepare your body and reduce your calorie intake. Come back next week for lesson 4 where we will discuss exercises that you can do to increase your energy output and burn calories.
