How Many Calories Are You Eating?

Are you following a rigid diet plan; ie, low carb or vegetarian?  And you aren’t losing weight?  The main reason is you are consuming too many calories.

The bottom line — to lose weight you need to eat fewer calories than your body uses.  Maybe you are eating more calories than you realize.

The best way to know what you are really eating is by tracking or keeping a food diary. There are numerous free apps available to track calories and keep you motivated on your weight loss journey.

2019 New Year New Diet

With the new year comes new resolutions.  A new diet seems to be the top contender every year.  The trending diets for 2019 are as follows:

1. The Keto Diet — This is a low carbohydrate, high fat diet.  The diet restricts carbohydrates by replacing them with fats, forcing the body into a state of ketosis — when you burn fat instead of carbohydrates for energy.
2. Pegan (Paleo + vegan) Diet — This diet is a combination of a vegan diet, which avoids all animal products, and the Paleo diet, which focuses on consuming the types of foods our ancient ancestors supposedly ate during the Paleolithic era.
3. Intermittent Fasting — The most common intermittent fasting plan is eating as you would for 5 days and fasting for 2 days. On fasting days, you would abstain from eating except for one small meal of just 400 to 500 calories for women and 500 to 600 calories for men.
4. A Plant Based Diet — This diet incorporates consuming more fruits and vegetables and less meat where half your plate should be vegetables, a quarter of your plate should be grains, and a quarter should be protein.
5. Mindful Eating — The concept is not a specific diet, instead;  you listen to your body and eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full.

After reviewing these popular diets, let us reflect on the definition of the word diet according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary :

~diet –  1 : food and drink regularly provided or consumed. 2 : habitual nourishment. 3 : the kind and amount of food prescribed for a person or animal for a special reason. 4 : a regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one’s weight going on a diet.

Therefore, the way we eat or our diet is a habit which we have developed over our lifetime.  The changes we make to our diet need to become a habit not a quick fix.  Yes, you can lose weight on any diet trend; but, if it doesn’t  become a habit you will not sustain your weight loss.

In summary, the best diet choice is the diet you can live with and fits your lifestyle.  The ultimate goal is to replace an unhealthy habit with a healthy one.  Happy 2019!

Chicken & Broccoli Stir Fry

Stir Frying is a healthy and delicious way to create quick and nutritious meals that the entire family can enjoy.  It’s a nice way to use fresh produce before it spoils. Stir Frying does not have to be Asian cuisine. By changing the spices, a stir fry can be Italian, Mexican or Cajun flavors.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb. boneless chicken breast
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 broccoli crown, steamed
• snow peas
• carrot
• 1 Tbsp. canola oil
• garlic and spices

DIRECTIONS:

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir chicken and garlic until chicken is slightly pink on the inside, about 2 minutes per side; add vegetables and spices to skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until chicken is no longer pink in the middle and vegetables are tender, 10 to 12 minutes.

NUTRITION INFO:

260 Calories; 14g Fat; 3g Saturated Fat; 31mg Chol; 384mg Sodium; 20g Carb; 4g Fiber; 14g Protein

 

 

Super Skinny Smoothie

When I need to drop a few pounds quickly, I always rely on smoothies.  If I  use a smoothie as a meal replacement, I always add a scoop of protein powder and I eat a lot of fresh veggies and fruit. This particular smoothie is super low in calories and high in nutrients.  It can be used as a snack and it’s great for controlling those unwanted cravings.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tablespoons low fat ricotta cheese
• 1 cup strawberries
• handful of ice
• 1 packet stevia

DIRECTIONS:

Mix in a blender until smooth.

NUTRITION INFO:

89 Calories; 4gm fat; 8gm carbohydrate; 2gm fiber; 4gm protein

Healthy Eating Can Cost Less

Another new study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Volume 116, November 2016 concluded that improved diet quality was not associated with increased cost.

GoGirlDiet Blog

Is it really more expensive to eat healthy?

According to a study released by the USDA last week,  it is actually less costly to consume fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods than foods high in saturated fat, sugar, and sodium.

This is what they found:

•  Foods low in calories for a given weight tend to have a higher price when the price is measured per calorie—vegetables and fruits without added fat or sugar are low in calories and, by this metric, tend to be a very expen- sive way to purchase food energy.
• Conversely, still using the price-per-calorie measure, less healthy (moderation) foods high in saturated fat and/or added sugars tend to be high in calories and have a low price per calorie.
• However, when measured on the basis of edible weight or average portion size, vegetables and fruit are less expensive than most dairy, protein, and moderation foods.

This…

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Are You Cheater?

 

Are you a cheater? I’m not referring to cheating on a test or significant other.  This is referring to diet and the reason you are not losing weight. Do you check in to your weekly or monthly weight loss session with the perfect food diary. Honestly, if you are consuming exactly what you have recorded then you should lose weight.  Perhaps you snuck a few cookies or a piece of pizza when you swear to all that you’ve been on a strict diet.  And let’s not forget those few beers or glasses of wine at the end of the day that you may have guzzled but refuse to acknowledge, even to yourself! These are just some of the ways we can tell ourselves and others that we are on a more straight and narrow path with our health goals than we actually are! Though in this case, the person we are really cheating is ourselves!

Lose Weight With Go Girl Diet

Are you struggling with your weight? Do you want to be skinny?

Go girl diet will teach you how to finally eat a healthy diet. You will learn
one step at a time how to make simple changes in your eating habits that
will help you lose weight to last a lifetime. You learn the skills to make
lifelong changes and to balance healthy and not so healthy foods.

Go girl will help you lose weight and keep it off for good. No more crazy
fad diets! No more restrictions or forbidden foods! No more complicated
meal plans! No more feeling like a failure!

At go girl diet, you will find the latest weight loss trends with quick
healthy eating hints that you can incorporate into your busy lifestyle.
Who said you can’t eat your cake and lose weight too?

Red, White, and Blue Parfait

Just in time for the summer holidays, cook-outs, and picnics.  The red, white, and blue parfait is super easy to make and extremely healthy.  The best it is only 3 ingredients.  Moreover, these par…

Source: Red, White, and Blue Parfait

Was Your New Year Resolution to Lose Weight???

 

Many people start the new year with the “losing weight” resolution and plan on doing this by following a strict diet.

Please answer the following poll to find out how many of you want to lose weight.  Thanks!!

Daily Weighing Promotes Weight Loss

According to a recent study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, daily weighing was associated with greater weight loss than weighing most days of the week.  Participants who weighed daily lost an average of 20 pounds at 6 months compared to only an average of 7 pounds lost by those weighing less than daily.  The study concluded daily weighers adopted more weight control behaviors and strategies than those weighing less often.  This is a significant difference in weight loss demonstrating that daily weighing can have an impact on losing weight!