Pull out your list of New Year’s Resolutions and think of them as your goals for right now.  Instead of trying to overhaul your life overnight, break your goals into more manageable, smaller goals.  Take on one goal a week.

If your larger goal is to have more stamina and better muscle definition, your weekly goals for the coming month might look like this:

- Add 5 minutes to your cardio workouts.

- Make a point to use deep breathing techniques during workouts.

- Walk up the two flights of stairs at work instead of taking the elevator.

- Meet with a personal trainer to create a strength-training plan.

Make things easier on yourself!  Start with the easiest changes first and work up to the more challenging tasks.  By the end of the month, you’ll have made at least 4 important health changes and you’ll feel even more motivated to continue to make other changes needed to reach your goal.

With this strategy, January 1st can be anyday, everyday!!  Reach your goals every single day!

Believe In Yourself,
Cathy, CLC
Certified Life Coach, Weight Loss Surgery Coach
Certified Back On Track Facilitator

Deep-frying chicken
Sautéing meat in a cream sauce
Having some salad with your salad dressing (more dressing than salad!)
Frying an egg in butter.

Healthier methods, on the other hand, include dry-grilling and baking.

Examples: Broiling fish without butter, grilling eggs or meat without any added oil.

This is also why it’s important to know precisely how your restaurant meals are being prepared. Ask the food server how the meal is usually prepared. If you feel the cooking method or ingredients are high in fat or calories, specifically ask for the meal to be prepared in another, healthier way.

To lose weight, you need to take charge of your food choices.  Many times when we go out to eat, our goals to lose weight can be put on the back burner to indulge in food choices offered by restaurants.  While you don’t want to feel deprived, you also don’t want to give in to the temporary indulgences of a restaurant.  For me, it is a challenge to avoid the restaurant mentality of getting back on track “tomorrow.”

Some of the strategies I’ve learned that work for me are reviewing the menu of a restaurant on line and deciding what I will eat in advance.  I then skip the menu and getting caught up in all of the usually unhealthy food choices and huge portions.  Also, by avoiding the menu and deciding what you will order in advance, you aren’t tempted by the photos of the food on the menu.

I also keep the bread they put on the table before you meal away from me.  Even better, I’ll ask the server to skip the bread basket entirely.

I also request a to go container at the same time that I order.  Before I take a bite, I will divide the restaurant huge multiple sized portions.  I will keep on my plate an appropriate portion and put the rest in the container.  By doing this, you avoid to continue eating past a normal portion.  Also, you get more meals at home and enjoy what you ate at the restaurant again.

I’ll also remember that whatever choices I make at the restaurant will stay with me after I walk out the door.  If I succumb to the temptations of eating out, that will show up on the scale and possibly serve as a trigger to continue poor food choices for a few days, weeks, etc.

Eating out is fun.  No cooking, preparation or clean up done on your part.  It can also be a trap for choices that you wouldn’t make otherwise at home.  Redefine what it means for you to eat out as fun.  Rather than food as fun, define fun by enjoying the company of those that are at your table.  Change your focus on food to family, friends, business associates.  Truly, the real purpose of going out to eat is to enjoy the ambiance of the restaurant with those people that you choose to join you.

Remember, you are paying for it so you can choose to have it done YOUR way.  Remember that you are in charge and responsible for your food choices that you make at the restaurant.  You’ll either leave the restaurant feeling awesome about the healthy food choices you made and enjoying the experience without leaving your weight loss commitment in the parking lot.

Believe In Yourself,
Cathy, CLC
Certified Life Coach, Weight Loss Surgery Coach
Back On Track Facilitator

When shopping, spend most of your time and budget in the produce and meats section and avoid the inner area.  The bulk of the processed (also known as high-calorie, lower nutrition) foods are.

A great weight loss strategy is to minimize your time and money in the inner aisles (can we say Peanut Butter Captain Crunch and frozen pizzas??) and focus on the produce, meats, dairy, whole grain breads and complex carbs which are kept on the outside of those processed food aisles.

Another idea of whether to buy an item is to check out the ingredient list.  If you don’t know what the first few ingredients are or need a dictionary to find out what an item contains, don’t buy it.  The ingredient list on produce, meat and dairy are very simple and obviously, those are the healthiest choices you can make.

Have a list AND stick to the list.  Make your list at home for the items that you need.  At home, you can leisurely take inventory of the items that you need.  In your own home, you aren’t in the environment of the grocery store and the temptations that lie in wait for you.  Something may look good in the store but that doesn’t mean you need to buy it.  The marketers of products at the grocery store have strategies to encourage impulse purchases.  They’ve spent time and research in knowing how to appeal to our impulse buying tendency.  Don’t succumb to those marketing strategies.  Know what you need and stick to your list.

Also, put on your blinders when it comes to standing in line to check out.  The snacks and candy are those impulse items that are waiting to be picked up.  When it comes to waiting in line at the check out areas, have tunnel vision and make it a habit not to make any purchases in those areas.

Stick to your list for your calorie and monetary budget!  Your weight loss and finances will thank you!!

Believe In Yourself,
Cathy, CLC
Certified Life Coach, Weight Loss Surgery Coach