The 10 Best Snacks for Weight Loss
by EatingWell
Eating a snack or two between meals can curb hunger so that you don’t inhale the dining room table when you finally sit down to supper. Snacking can also help you get in all the nutrients you need. On the flipside, grazing all day—particularly on foods of little nutritional value—may result in eating too much and packing on extra pounds. These 10 snacks are smart choices that can help you lose weight.
1. Almonds
One study found that people who chewed almonds thoroughly (up to 40 chews) felt full longer than those who chewed the same amount of nuts fewer times.
2. Grapefruit
Grapefruit’s "diet food" rep might be justified: one study found that when people simply ate grapefruit with each meal, they lost up to 3 1/2 pounds over three months. Grapefruit may help manage appetite by lowering insulin levels, say researchers.
3. Chickpeas
Keep chickpeas in the pantry. They have a meaty texture and a nutty flavor along with plenty of satiating fiber and a little protein—perfect when you’re watching your weight.
4. Grapes
Toss grapes in the freezer for an easy snack. Because they’re sweet and you savor them individually and slowly, you’ll get a lot of satisfaction for just a handful of calories.
5. Chocolate
Include a treat every day. Believe it or not, giving yourself little treats may be the secret to losing weight—for good. Aiming to be “too good” sets you up to fail. If you like a glass of wine with dinner, make room for it. Prefer dessert? Skip the drink and go for a low-calorie chocolate treat instead.
6. Popcorn
Popcorn is high in fiber, low in fat and delivers some protein. A 1-ounce serving (about 3 cups) of air-popped popcorn has 4 grams of fiber, almost 4 grams of protein, just over 1 gram of fat and clocks in at 110 calories. This combination makes it a snack with staying power.
7. Yogurt
Use snacks to fill nutritional gaps. Make your snacks count. Choose those that provide calcium and fiber—two nutrients that people often skimp on. Two snacks to try: a cup of yogurt with a half-cup of whole-grain cereal mixed in, or a skim latte plus an apple.
8. Hummus
Skip the vending machine and satisfy the afternoon “munchies” with a healthy snack you packed at home. You’ll save money and get a bigger bang for your nutritional buck. Try an ounce of almonds and an orange or a handful of pretzels with some hummus. Planning snacks that provide both carbohydrates and protein will help tide you over until dinner.
9. Oatmeal
Choose your “midnight” snack wisely. If a good night’s sleep is what you crave, there may be a food combination to help. Specialists recommend a pre-slumber snack that’s rich in carbohydrates and contains a bit of protein; this combination is said to increase the tryptophan levels in the brain, causing you to sleep more soundly. Try low-fat yogurt with a sprinkle of granola, a small bowl of oatmeal or a sliced apple with a bit of peanut butter.
10. Dried Fruit
Don’t get tripped up by travel. However often you fly, prepare in advance so you’ll have healthy snacks to eat en route. For shorter flights, pack a quarter-cup of dried fruit, such as apricots, a handful of almonds and a few whole-wheat crackers as healthier alternatives to the salty snacks served in-flight. Sip plenty of water; low humidity and recirculating cabin air can be dehydrating.
Showing posts with label Happy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Happy. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Monday, November 30, 2015
Jumpstart Your Weight-Loss Journey with these 11 Things
11 Easy Things You Can Do TODAY to Jumpstart Your Weight-Loss Journey
Getting going is the hardest part. Here’s how to make it easier.
BY K. ALEISHA FETTERS
Every day, we say “I’ll start tomorrow.” But if you follow these 11 simple strategies today, tomorrow really will be the day.
ASK YOURSELF WHY YOU REALLY WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT
If you’re going to quit your junk-food habit and change your lifestyle for good, you are going to need a deeper source of motivation than “I want to fit into a size two,” says Pamela Peeke, M.D., M.P.H., senior science advisor at Elements Behavioral Health and author of Body For Life For Women. So ask yourself: Why do you want to fit into a size two? The most motivating reasons are intensely personal, she says. Maybe your best friend has asked you to hike Machu Picchu with her, you can’t keep up with your kids any more, or you want to feel better about yourself.
WRITE DOWN YOUR GOAL
It takes 10 seconds and ups your chances that you’ll meet your goal by 42 percent, per research from Dominican University. “Women suffer from wellness amnesia,” says Peeke. “Life is overwhelming, so it’s easy to shift our focus from healthy living to other things.” By writing down your goal—and keeping it where you can see it each and every day—you’ll keep it in the forefront of your mind, right up there with your other priorities.
RAID YOUR KITCHEN
Open the refrigerator, every cabinet, and every drawer. Then as yourself the following: When I eat these foods, will I feel loss of control? Will my body feel bad physically after I eat them? If the answer is yes, throw them out, says Peeke. They’re your trigger foods, and if they are left in your kitchen, you risk overeating, stalled weight loss, and, most importantly, an unhealthy relationship with food. Sure, in a perfect world, you would remove all refined, processed foods from your kitchen. But that's not realistic—and these trigger foods are the most important to ditch, she says.
THINK THROUGH YOUR TROUBLE SPOTS
And no, we don’t mean your tummy and thighs. Consider what has caused you weight-loss problems in the past, whether it’s dinners out or emotional eating, says clinical psychologist and diet coach Terese Weinstein Katz, Ph.D. “Just being aware of these issues can help keep you from giving up when you bump into them.”
PREP SOME FOODS
“The more you cook, the easier it is to drop weight and keep it off, period,” says Peeke. But who has time to cook three meals from scratch each and every day? Certainly not us. By prepping healthy foods and meals today, you’ll eliminate the amount of time you’ll spend in the kitchen during the rest of the week, while guaranteeing you’ll eat plenty of healthy home-cooked meals.
TELL YOUR BEST FRIENDS YOUR PLANS
When it comes to weight loss, having accountability from the get-go is huge. But, at the same time, friends who take it too far—guilt tripping you when you do splurge, etc.—aren’t going to help you have a healthier relationship with food, says Peeke. “You have to make sure the people you tell about your desire to lose weight are people you care about and care about you in a gentle way,” she says. For instance, when a server sets down a basket of bread on the table and you start biting your lip, which of your friends will respond by telling the server, “Thank you, but we don’t need any bread. Could you please take it back?” That’s the friend you should tell about your weight-loss goals.
SCHEDULE YOUR WORKOUTS
“If you have a hair appointment, you aren’t going to break it. You work the rest of your schedule around it,” says Peeke. The same should be true with your exercise time. So instead of trying to fit workouts into your free time (who even has free time, anyway?), plan a week’s worth of workouts today. Use pen, not pencil.
MAKE A VISION BOARD
“Women are visual,” says Peeke. “Visual reminders of what we want to achieve light us up like there’s no tomorrow.” So tape some motivating mantras and pictures to a board to remind you of what you want to achieve. Consider pictures of you from when you were at your fittest or pictures of things you want to achieve—like a half-marathon finish line. Whatever you put on your board should build you up and make you feel like, yes, you’ve got this.
BUY SOME CUTE WORKOUT CLOTHES
“If you wear nice clothes at work or on a date, it makes you feel good. It’s the same thing in the gym,” says Peeke. And the better you feel about going to the gym, the more often you are going to do it. Go online or hit up the mall: Look for fun, flattering, and comfortable workout pieces that fit your body as it is now, she recommends. As it starts changing, you can reward yourself with some more shopping.
PLAN SOME SMALL, TOTALLY DOABLE CHANGES
Trying to completely overhaul your lifestyle sets you up for failure and discouragement, says Katz. A better plan: being honest about the small changes that you are willing and able to make starting tomorrow. Can you eat more servings of vegetables? Can you take a 15-minute walk after lunch? What about cutting back on happy hour? What are you really up for doing, and what’s just a pipedream? It’s okay to admit that, no, you aren’t willing to forgo Sunday brunches. Being realistic sets you up for awesome, “I can totally do this!” moments that are so critical to long-term success, she says.
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Lose Weight using 40 Fast and Easy Tips
How to Lose Weight: 40 Fast, Easy Tips
You know the drill when it comes to losing weight: take in fewer calories, burn more calories. But you also know that most diets and quick weight-loss plans don't work as promised. If you're trying to drop a few pounds fast, these expert tips will make it easy for you to lose the weight quickly.
from Stealth Health (Reader's Digest Association Books)
Write down what you eat for one week and you will lose weight. Studies found that people who keep food diaries wind up eating about 15 percent less food than those who don’t. Watch out for weekends: A University of North Carolina study found people tend to consume an extra 115 calories per weekend day, primarily from alcohol and fat. Then cut out or down calories from spreads, dressings, sauces, condiments, drinks, and snacks; they could make the difference between weight gain and loss.
Add 10 percent to the amount of daily calories you think you’re eating. If you think you’re consuming 1,700 calories a day and don’t understand why you’re not losing weight, add another 170 calories to your guesstimate. Chances are, the new number is more accurate. Adjust your eating habits accordingly.
Get an online weight loss buddy to lose more weight. A University of Vermont study found that online weight-loss buddies help you keep the weight off. The researchers followed volunteers for 18 months. Those assigned to an Internet-based weight maintenance program sustained their weight loss better than those who met face-to-face in a support group.
Get a mantra.
You’ve heard of a self-fulfilling prophecy? If you keep focusing on things you can’t do, like resisting junk food or getting out the door for a daily walk, chances are you won’t do them. Instead (whether you believe it or not) repeat positive thoughts to yourself. “I can lose weight.” “I will get out for my walk today.” “I know I can resist the pastry cart after dinner.” Repeat these phrases and before too long, they will become true for you.
After breakfast, stick to water.
At breakfast, go ahead and drink orange juice. But throughout the rest of the day, focus on water instead of juice or soda. The average American consumes an extra 245 calories a day from soft drinks. That’s nearly 90,000 calories a year—or 25 pounds! And research shows that despite the calories, sugary drinks don’t trigger a sense of fullness the way that food does.
Eat three fewer bites of your meal,
one less treat a day, or one less glass of orange juice. Doing any of these can save you about 100 calories a day, and that alone is enough to prevent you from gaining the two pounds most people mindlessly pack on each year.
Watch one less hour of TV.
A study of 76 undergraduate students found the more they watched television, the more often they ate and the more they ate overall. Sacrifice one program (there’s probably one you don’t really want to watch anyway) and go for a walk instead.
Wash something thoroughly once a week.
Whether that’s a floor, a couple of windows, the shower stall, bathroom tile, or your car, a 150-pound person will burn about four calories for every minute spent cleaning. Scrub for 30 minutes and you could work off approximately 120 calories, the same number in a half-cup of vanilla frozen yogurt.
Wait until your stomach rumbles before you reach for food.
It’s stunning how often we eat out of boredom, nervousness, habit, or frustration—so often, in fact, that many of us have actually forgotten what physical hunger feels like. If you’re hankering for a specific food, it’s probably a craving, not hunger. If you’d eat anything you could get your hands on, chances are you’re truly hungry. Find ways other than eating to express love, tame stress, and relieve boredom.
Sniff a banana, an apple, or a peppermint when you feel hungry.
You might feel silly, but it works. When Alan R. Hirsch, M.D., neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, tried this with 3,000 volunteers, he found that the more frequently people sniffed, the less hungry they were and the more weight they lost—an average of 30 pounds each. One theory is that sniffing the food tricks the brain into thinking you’re actually eating it.
Stare at the color blue.
There’s a good reason you won’t see many fast-food restaurants decorated in blue: it functions as an appetite suppressant. So serve up dinner on blue plates, dress in blue while you eat, and cover your table with a blue tablecloth. Conversely, avoid red, yellow, and orange in your dining areas. Studies find they encourage eating.
Eat in front of mirrors and you’ll lose weight.
One study found that eating in front of mirrors slashed the amount people ate by nearly one-third. Having to look yourself in the eye reflects back some of your own inner standards and goals, and reminds you of why you’re trying to lose weight in the first place.
Spend 10 minutes a day walking up and down stairs.
The Centers for Disease Control says that’s all it takes to help you shed as much as 10 pounds a year (assuming you don’t start eating more).
Walk five minutes for at least every two hours.
Stuck at a desk all day? A brisk five-minute walk every two hours will parlay into an extra 20-minute walk by the end of the day. And getting a break will make you less likely to reach for snacks out of antsiness.
how to lose weight fast walking.
You’ll lose weight and fat if you walk 45 minutes a day, not 30.
The reason we’re suggesting 45 minutes instead of the typical 30 is that a Duke University study found that while 30 minutes of daily walking is enough to prevent weight gain in most relatively sedentary people, exercise beyond 30 minutes results in weight and fat loss. Burning an additional 300 calories a day with three miles of brisk walking (45 minutes should do it) could help you lose 30 pounds in a year without even changing how much you’re eating.
Don’t buy any prepared food
that lists sugar, fructose, or corn syrup among the first four ingredients on the label. You should be able to find a lower-sugar version of the same type of food. If you can’t, grab a piece of fruit instead! Look for sugar-free varieties of foods such as ketchup, mayonnaise, and salad dressing. Also, avoid partially hydrogenated foods, and look for more than two grams of fiber per 100 calories in all grain products. Finally, a short ingredient list means fewer flavor enhancers and empty calories.
Put your fork or spoon down between every bite.
At the table, sip water frequently. Intersperse your eating with stories for your dining partner of the amusing things that happened during your day. Your brain lags your stomach by about 20 minutes when it comes to satiety (fullness) signals. If you eat slowly enough, your brain will catch up to tell you that you are no longer in need of food.
Throw out your “fat” clothes for good.
Once you’ve started losing weight, throw out or give away every piece of clothing that doesn’t fit. The idea of having to buy a whole new wardrobe if you gain the weight back will serve as a strong incentive to stay fit.
Close the kitchen for 12 hours.
After dinner, wash all the dishes, wipe down the counters, turn out the light, and, if necessary, tape closed the cabinets and refrigerator. Late-evening eating significantly increases the overall number of calories you eat, a University of Texas study found. Stopping late-night snacking can save 300 or more calories a day, or 31 pounds a year.
Walk before dinner and you’ll cut calories AND your appetite.
In a study of 10 obese women conducted at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, 20 minutes of walking reduced appetite and increased sensations of fullness as effectively as a light meal.
Make one social outing this week an active one.
Pass on the movies and screen the views of a local park instead. Not only will you sit less, but you’ll be saving calories because you won’t chow down on that bucket of popcorn. Other active ideas: a tennis match, a guided nature or city walk (check your local listings), a bike ride, or bowling.
Buy a pedometer, clip it to your belt, and aim for an extra 1,000 steps a day.
On average, sedentary people take only 2,000 to 3,000 steps a day. Adding 2,000 steps will help you maintain your current weight and stop gaining weight; adding more than that will help you lose weight.
Put less food out and you’ll take less in.
Conversely, the more food in front of you, the more you’ll eat—regardless of how hungry you are. So instead of using regular dinner plates that range these days from 10 to 14 inches (making them look empty if they’re not heaped with food), serve your main course on salad plates (about 7 to 9 inches wide). Instead of 16-ounce glasses and oversized coffee mugs, return to the old days of 8-ounce glasses and 6-ounce coffee cups.
Eat 90 percent of your meals at home.
You’re more likely to eat more—and eat more high-fat, high-calorie foods—when you eat out than when you eat at home. Restaurants today serve such large portions that many have switched to larger plates and tables to accommodate them.
Serve food on your plate instead of on platters.
If you eat your dinner restaurant style on your plate rather than family style, helping yourself from bowls and platters on the table, you’ll lose weight. Most of us tend to eat an average of 150 percent more calories in the evening than in the morning. You’ll avoid that now because when your plate is empty, you’re finished; there’s no reaching for seconds.
Don’t eat with a large group.
A study published in the Journal of Physiological Behavior found that we tend to eat more when we eat with other people, most likely because we spend more time at the table. But eating with your significant other or your family, and using table time for talking in between chewing, can help cut down on calories.
Order the smallest portion of everything.
If you’re out and ordering a sub, get the 6-inch sandwich. Buy a small popcorn, a small salad, a small hamburger. Again, studies find we tend to eat what’s in front of us, even though we’d feel just as full on less.
Eat water-rich foods and you’ll eat fewer calories overall.
A body of research out of Pennsylvania State University finds that eating water-rich foods such as zucchini, tomatoes, and cucumbers during meals reduces your overall calorie consumption. Other water-rich foods include soups and salads. You won’t get the same benefits by just drinking your water, though. Because the body processes hunger and thirst through different mechanisms, it simply doesn’t register a sense of fullness with water (or soda, tea, coffee, or juice).
Bulk up your meals with veggies.
You can eat twice as much pasta salad loaded with veggies like broccoli, carrots, and tomatoes for the same calories as a pasta salad sporting just mayonnaise. Same goes for stir-fries, omelets, and other veggie-friendly dishes. If you eat a 1:1 ratio of grains to veggies, the high-fiber veggies will help satisfy your hunger before you overeat the grains.
Avoid white foods. There is some scientific legitimacy to today’s lower-carb diets: Large amounts of simple carbohydrates from white flour and added sugar can wreak havoc on your blood sugar and lead to weight gain. While avoiding sugar, white rice, and white flour, however, you should eat plenty of whole-grain breads and brown rice. One Harvard study of 74,000 women found that those who ate more than two daily servings of whole grains were 49 percent less likely to be overweight than those who ate the white stuff.
white loaf of bread
Switch to ordinary coffee.
Fancy coffee drinks from trendy coffee joints often pack several hundred calories, thanks to whole milk, whipped cream, sugar, and sugary syrups. A cup of regular coffee with skim milk has just a small fraction of those calories. And when brewed with good beans, it tastes just as great. You can also try nonfat powdered milk in coffee. You’ll get the nutritional benefits of skim milk, which is high in calcium and low in calories. And, because the water has been removed, powdered milk doesn’t dilute the coffee the way skim milk does.
If you’re going to indulge, choose fat-releasing foods.
They should help keep you from feeling deprived and binging on higher-calorie foods. For instance: honey has just 64 fat releasing calories in one tablespoon. Eggs have just 70 calories in one hard-boiled egg, loaded with fat releasing protein. Part-skim ricotta cheese has just 39 calories in one ounce, packed with fat releasing calcium. Dark chocolate has about 168 calories in a one-ounce square, but it’s packed with fat releasers. And a University of Tennessee study found that people who cut 500 calories a day and ate yogurt three times a day for 12 weeks lost more weight and body fat than a group that only cut the calories. The researchers concluded that the calcium in low-fat dairy foods triggers a hormonal response that inhibits the body’s production of fat cells and boosts the breakdown of fat.
Enjoy high-calorie treats as the accent, not the centerpiece
Make a spoonful of ice cream the jewel and a bowl of fruit the crown. Cut down on the chips by pairing each bite with lots of chunky, filling fresh salsa, suggests Jeff Novick, director of nutrition at the Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa in Florida. Balance a little cheese with a lot of fruit or salad.
Eat cereal for breakfast five days a week.
Studies find that people who eat cereal for breakfast every day are significantly less likely to be obese and have diabetes than those who don’t. They also consume more fiber and calcium—and less fat—than those who eat other breakfast foods. Make oatmeal, or pour out a high-fiber, low-sugar cereal like Total or Grape Nuts.
Try hot sauce, salsa, and Cajun seasonings
They provide lots of flavor with no fat and few calories, plus they turn up your digestive fires, causing your body to temporarily burn more calories. Choose them over butter and creamy or sugary sauces.
Eat fruit instead of drinking fruit juice.
For the calories in one kid-size box of apple juice, you can enjoy an apple, orange, and a slice of watermelon. These whole foods will keep you satisfied much longer than that box of apple juice, so you’ll eat less overall.
Drop your milk type and you cut calories by about 20 percent.
If you drink regular, go to 2%. If you already drink 2%, go down another notch to 1% or skim milk. Each step downward cuts the calories by about 20 percent. Once you train your taste buds to enjoy skim milk, you’ll have cut the calories in the whole milk by about half and trimmed the fat by more than 95 percent.
Snack on a small handful of nuts.
Studies have found that overweight people who ate a moderate-fat diet containing almonds lost more weight than a control group that didn’t eat nuts. Snacking once or twice a day helps stave off hunger and keeps your metabolism stoked. You can also pack up baby carrots or your own trail mix with nuts, raisins, seeds, and dried fruit.
Get most of your calories before noon.
Studies find that the more you eat in the morning, the less you’ll eat in the evening. And you have more opportunities to burn off those early-day calories than you do to burn off dinner calories.
Brush your teeth after every meal, especially dinner.
That clean, minty freshness will serve as a cue to your body and brain that mealtime is over.
You know the drill when it comes to losing weight: take in fewer calories, burn more calories. But you also know that most diets and quick weight-loss plans don't work as promised. If you're trying to drop a few pounds fast, these expert tips will make it easy for you to lose the weight quickly.
from Stealth Health (Reader's Digest Association Books)
Write down what you eat for one week and you will lose weight. Studies found that people who keep food diaries wind up eating about 15 percent less food than those who don’t. Watch out for weekends: A University of North Carolina study found people tend to consume an extra 115 calories per weekend day, primarily from alcohol and fat. Then cut out or down calories from spreads, dressings, sauces, condiments, drinks, and snacks; they could make the difference between weight gain and loss.
Add 10 percent to the amount of daily calories you think you’re eating. If you think you’re consuming 1,700 calories a day and don’t understand why you’re not losing weight, add another 170 calories to your guesstimate. Chances are, the new number is more accurate. Adjust your eating habits accordingly.
Get an online weight loss buddy to lose more weight. A University of Vermont study found that online weight-loss buddies help you keep the weight off. The researchers followed volunteers for 18 months. Those assigned to an Internet-based weight maintenance program sustained their weight loss better than those who met face-to-face in a support group.
Get a mantra.
You’ve heard of a self-fulfilling prophecy? If you keep focusing on things you can’t do, like resisting junk food or getting out the door for a daily walk, chances are you won’t do them. Instead (whether you believe it or not) repeat positive thoughts to yourself. “I can lose weight.” “I will get out for my walk today.” “I know I can resist the pastry cart after dinner.” Repeat these phrases and before too long, they will become true for you.
After breakfast, stick to water.
At breakfast, go ahead and drink orange juice. But throughout the rest of the day, focus on water instead of juice or soda. The average American consumes an extra 245 calories a day from soft drinks. That’s nearly 90,000 calories a year—or 25 pounds! And research shows that despite the calories, sugary drinks don’t trigger a sense of fullness the way that food does.
Eat three fewer bites of your meal,
one less treat a day, or one less glass of orange juice. Doing any of these can save you about 100 calories a day, and that alone is enough to prevent you from gaining the two pounds most people mindlessly pack on each year.
Watch one less hour of TV.
A study of 76 undergraduate students found the more they watched television, the more often they ate and the more they ate overall. Sacrifice one program (there’s probably one you don’t really want to watch anyway) and go for a walk instead.
Wash something thoroughly once a week.
Whether that’s a floor, a couple of windows, the shower stall, bathroom tile, or your car, a 150-pound person will burn about four calories for every minute spent cleaning. Scrub for 30 minutes and you could work off approximately 120 calories, the same number in a half-cup of vanilla frozen yogurt.
Wait until your stomach rumbles before you reach for food.
It’s stunning how often we eat out of boredom, nervousness, habit, or frustration—so often, in fact, that many of us have actually forgotten what physical hunger feels like. If you’re hankering for a specific food, it’s probably a craving, not hunger. If you’d eat anything you could get your hands on, chances are you’re truly hungry. Find ways other than eating to express love, tame stress, and relieve boredom.
Sniff a banana, an apple, or a peppermint when you feel hungry.
You might feel silly, but it works. When Alan R. Hirsch, M.D., neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, tried this with 3,000 volunteers, he found that the more frequently people sniffed, the less hungry they were and the more weight they lost—an average of 30 pounds each. One theory is that sniffing the food tricks the brain into thinking you’re actually eating it.
Stare at the color blue.
There’s a good reason you won’t see many fast-food restaurants decorated in blue: it functions as an appetite suppressant. So serve up dinner on blue plates, dress in blue while you eat, and cover your table with a blue tablecloth. Conversely, avoid red, yellow, and orange in your dining areas. Studies find they encourage eating.
Eat in front of mirrors and you’ll lose weight.
One study found that eating in front of mirrors slashed the amount people ate by nearly one-third. Having to look yourself in the eye reflects back some of your own inner standards and goals, and reminds you of why you’re trying to lose weight in the first place.
Spend 10 minutes a day walking up and down stairs.
The Centers for Disease Control says that’s all it takes to help you shed as much as 10 pounds a year (assuming you don’t start eating more).
Walk five minutes for at least every two hours.
Stuck at a desk all day? A brisk five-minute walk every two hours will parlay into an extra 20-minute walk by the end of the day. And getting a break will make you less likely to reach for snacks out of antsiness.
how to lose weight fast walking.
You’ll lose weight and fat if you walk 45 minutes a day, not 30.
The reason we’re suggesting 45 minutes instead of the typical 30 is that a Duke University study found that while 30 minutes of daily walking is enough to prevent weight gain in most relatively sedentary people, exercise beyond 30 minutes results in weight and fat loss. Burning an additional 300 calories a day with three miles of brisk walking (45 minutes should do it) could help you lose 30 pounds in a year without even changing how much you’re eating.
Don’t buy any prepared food
that lists sugar, fructose, or corn syrup among the first four ingredients on the label. You should be able to find a lower-sugar version of the same type of food. If you can’t, grab a piece of fruit instead! Look for sugar-free varieties of foods such as ketchup, mayonnaise, and salad dressing. Also, avoid partially hydrogenated foods, and look for more than two grams of fiber per 100 calories in all grain products. Finally, a short ingredient list means fewer flavor enhancers and empty calories.
Put your fork or spoon down between every bite.
At the table, sip water frequently. Intersperse your eating with stories for your dining partner of the amusing things that happened during your day. Your brain lags your stomach by about 20 minutes when it comes to satiety (fullness) signals. If you eat slowly enough, your brain will catch up to tell you that you are no longer in need of food.
Throw out your “fat” clothes for good.
Once you’ve started losing weight, throw out or give away every piece of clothing that doesn’t fit. The idea of having to buy a whole new wardrobe if you gain the weight back will serve as a strong incentive to stay fit.
Close the kitchen for 12 hours.
After dinner, wash all the dishes, wipe down the counters, turn out the light, and, if necessary, tape closed the cabinets and refrigerator. Late-evening eating significantly increases the overall number of calories you eat, a University of Texas study found. Stopping late-night snacking can save 300 or more calories a day, or 31 pounds a year.
Walk before dinner and you’ll cut calories AND your appetite.
In a study of 10 obese women conducted at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, 20 minutes of walking reduced appetite and increased sensations of fullness as effectively as a light meal.
Make one social outing this week an active one.
Pass on the movies and screen the views of a local park instead. Not only will you sit less, but you’ll be saving calories because you won’t chow down on that bucket of popcorn. Other active ideas: a tennis match, a guided nature or city walk (check your local listings), a bike ride, or bowling.
Buy a pedometer, clip it to your belt, and aim for an extra 1,000 steps a day.
On average, sedentary people take only 2,000 to 3,000 steps a day. Adding 2,000 steps will help you maintain your current weight and stop gaining weight; adding more than that will help you lose weight.
Put less food out and you’ll take less in.
Conversely, the more food in front of you, the more you’ll eat—regardless of how hungry you are. So instead of using regular dinner plates that range these days from 10 to 14 inches (making them look empty if they’re not heaped with food), serve your main course on salad plates (about 7 to 9 inches wide). Instead of 16-ounce glasses and oversized coffee mugs, return to the old days of 8-ounce glasses and 6-ounce coffee cups.
Eat 90 percent of your meals at home.
You’re more likely to eat more—and eat more high-fat, high-calorie foods—when you eat out than when you eat at home. Restaurants today serve such large portions that many have switched to larger plates and tables to accommodate them.
Serve food on your plate instead of on platters.
If you eat your dinner restaurant style on your plate rather than family style, helping yourself from bowls and platters on the table, you’ll lose weight. Most of us tend to eat an average of 150 percent more calories in the evening than in the morning. You’ll avoid that now because when your plate is empty, you’re finished; there’s no reaching for seconds.
Don’t eat with a large group.
A study published in the Journal of Physiological Behavior found that we tend to eat more when we eat with other people, most likely because we spend more time at the table. But eating with your significant other or your family, and using table time for talking in between chewing, can help cut down on calories.
Order the smallest portion of everything.
If you’re out and ordering a sub, get the 6-inch sandwich. Buy a small popcorn, a small salad, a small hamburger. Again, studies find we tend to eat what’s in front of us, even though we’d feel just as full on less.
Eat water-rich foods and you’ll eat fewer calories overall.
A body of research out of Pennsylvania State University finds that eating water-rich foods such as zucchini, tomatoes, and cucumbers during meals reduces your overall calorie consumption. Other water-rich foods include soups and salads. You won’t get the same benefits by just drinking your water, though. Because the body processes hunger and thirst through different mechanisms, it simply doesn’t register a sense of fullness with water (or soda, tea, coffee, or juice).
Bulk up your meals with veggies.
You can eat twice as much pasta salad loaded with veggies like broccoli, carrots, and tomatoes for the same calories as a pasta salad sporting just mayonnaise. Same goes for stir-fries, omelets, and other veggie-friendly dishes. If you eat a 1:1 ratio of grains to veggies, the high-fiber veggies will help satisfy your hunger before you overeat the grains.
Avoid white foods. There is some scientific legitimacy to today’s lower-carb diets: Large amounts of simple carbohydrates from white flour and added sugar can wreak havoc on your blood sugar and lead to weight gain. While avoiding sugar, white rice, and white flour, however, you should eat plenty of whole-grain breads and brown rice. One Harvard study of 74,000 women found that those who ate more than two daily servings of whole grains were 49 percent less likely to be overweight than those who ate the white stuff.
white loaf of bread
Switch to ordinary coffee.
Fancy coffee drinks from trendy coffee joints often pack several hundred calories, thanks to whole milk, whipped cream, sugar, and sugary syrups. A cup of regular coffee with skim milk has just a small fraction of those calories. And when brewed with good beans, it tastes just as great. You can also try nonfat powdered milk in coffee. You’ll get the nutritional benefits of skim milk, which is high in calcium and low in calories. And, because the water has been removed, powdered milk doesn’t dilute the coffee the way skim milk does.
If you’re going to indulge, choose fat-releasing foods.
They should help keep you from feeling deprived and binging on higher-calorie foods. For instance: honey has just 64 fat releasing calories in one tablespoon. Eggs have just 70 calories in one hard-boiled egg, loaded with fat releasing protein. Part-skim ricotta cheese has just 39 calories in one ounce, packed with fat releasing calcium. Dark chocolate has about 168 calories in a one-ounce square, but it’s packed with fat releasers. And a University of Tennessee study found that people who cut 500 calories a day and ate yogurt three times a day for 12 weeks lost more weight and body fat than a group that only cut the calories. The researchers concluded that the calcium in low-fat dairy foods triggers a hormonal response that inhibits the body’s production of fat cells and boosts the breakdown of fat.
Enjoy high-calorie treats as the accent, not the centerpiece
Make a spoonful of ice cream the jewel and a bowl of fruit the crown. Cut down on the chips by pairing each bite with lots of chunky, filling fresh salsa, suggests Jeff Novick, director of nutrition at the Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa in Florida. Balance a little cheese with a lot of fruit or salad.
Eat cereal for breakfast five days a week.
Studies find that people who eat cereal for breakfast every day are significantly less likely to be obese and have diabetes than those who don’t. They also consume more fiber and calcium—and less fat—than those who eat other breakfast foods. Make oatmeal, or pour out a high-fiber, low-sugar cereal like Total or Grape Nuts.
Try hot sauce, salsa, and Cajun seasonings
They provide lots of flavor with no fat and few calories, plus they turn up your digestive fires, causing your body to temporarily burn more calories. Choose them over butter and creamy or sugary sauces.
Eat fruit instead of drinking fruit juice.
For the calories in one kid-size box of apple juice, you can enjoy an apple, orange, and a slice of watermelon. These whole foods will keep you satisfied much longer than that box of apple juice, so you’ll eat less overall.
Drop your milk type and you cut calories by about 20 percent.
If you drink regular, go to 2%. If you already drink 2%, go down another notch to 1% or skim milk. Each step downward cuts the calories by about 20 percent. Once you train your taste buds to enjoy skim milk, you’ll have cut the calories in the whole milk by about half and trimmed the fat by more than 95 percent.
Snack on a small handful of nuts.
Studies have found that overweight people who ate a moderate-fat diet containing almonds lost more weight than a control group that didn’t eat nuts. Snacking once or twice a day helps stave off hunger and keeps your metabolism stoked. You can also pack up baby carrots or your own trail mix with nuts, raisins, seeds, and dried fruit.
Get most of your calories before noon.
Studies find that the more you eat in the morning, the less you’ll eat in the evening. And you have more opportunities to burn off those early-day calories than you do to burn off dinner calories.
Brush your teeth after every meal, especially dinner.
That clean, minty freshness will serve as a cue to your body and brain that mealtime is over.
How to Lose Weight Safely and Fast
How to Lose Weight Faster, But Safely
No gimmicks, no lies — just 11 science-based shortcuts from slim-down guru Jim Karas.
"The trouble with dieting," I hear many women say, "is that it takes too long. If I want to look good for my anniversary next month, I should've started losing weight way back in February. Now that I'm finally focused, it's too late." Well, yes and no. Taking the long-term approach to weight loss is wise because it means you'll lose pounds slowly and steadily -- making it more likely that you'll keep them off. But there are ways to rev up your metabolism so you burn calories and lose weight more quickly. Check out my favorite no-fail jump starts.
Watch Your Fluids
1. Drink green tea.
Get this: When a recent study compared the metabolic effect of green tea (in extract) with that of a placebo, researchers found that the green-tea drinkers burned about 70 additional calories in a 24-hour period. If you can believe it, those 70 calories a day add up to a total of 7.3 pounds of fat a year! It's not magic, it's science: Researchers believe the difference is caused by metabolism-enhancing antioxidants known as catechins, which are found in green tea.
2. Avoid calories in a glass.
Scientists now know that the body does not register liquid calories in the same way it does solid calories. Drinking a grande caffe mocha, for instance, won't make you feel satiated the way eating a bowl of pasta will. Which means that although the caffe mocha actually has a greater number of calories than the pasta, you're still more likely to want a second cup from Starbucks than another plate of linguine. So monitor your intake of juice, soda, coffee drinks and wine. If you consume one of each of those beverages during the day, you'll have taken in at least 800 extra calories by nighttime — and you'll still be hungry. (Incidentally, alcohol may suppress the metabolism of fat, making it tougher for you to burn those calories.)
Start Lifting
3. Buy a set of five-pound weights.
It's a onetime investment you'll never regret. Here's why: Strength training builds lean muscle tissue, which burns more calories — at work or at rest — 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The more lean muscle you have, the faster you'll slim down. How do you start strength training? Try some push-ups or a few squats or lunges. Use your free weights to perform simple biceps curls or triceps pulls right in your home or office. Do these exercises three to four times per week, and you'll soon see a rapid improvement in your physique.
4. Lose the salt.
Sodium contributes to water retention, making you look and feel bloated. Do you eat too much salt? Probably — the daily value suggests no more than 2,400 milligrams of sodium each day (or about one teaspoon), but most of us are getting more than twice that amount. So keep an eye on your sodium intake, and that doesn't just mean ditching the saltshaker. Hidden sources include soups, canned foods and drinks (did you know a serving of regular V8 juice has 800 mg of sodium?), salty snacks such as chips and pretzels and many prepackaged foods.
Heat Things Up
5. Spice it up.
Angelo Tremblay, Ph.D., director of the division of kinesiology at Laval University, in Canada, found that eating hot peppers can boost a person's basal metabolism (the total calories the body burns at rest). The reason? Capsaicin, a compound found in jalapeno and cayenne peppers, may increase your body's release of stress hormones such as adrenaline, which can speed up your metabolism and your ability to burn calories. What's more, eating hot peppers may reduce your appetite, Tremblay says, helping to curb your cravings. So spice up your stir-fried veggies, eat low-calorie chili or salsa (try them on salads and baked potatoes), and watch the pounds come off faster.
6. Get some sleep.
As funny as it sounds, sleep deprivation may make you fat — and not just because you're susceptible to cases of the late-night munchies (although there's that too). Women who get less than four hours of sleep per night have a slower metabolism than those who snooze for a full eight hours, according to researchers at the University of Chicago. So don't skimp on your zzz's, and you'll be rewarded with an extra edge when it comes to shedding pounds quickly.
Move Around
7. Go for an evening walk.
Don't get me wrong — exercising at any time is good for you. But evening activity may be particularly beneficial because many people's metabolism slows down toward the end of the day. Thirty minutes of aerobic activity before dinner increases your metabolic rate and may keep it elevated for another two or three hours, even after you've stopped moving. What that means for you: Those dinner calories have less of a chance to take up permanent residence on your hips.
8. Eat every meal.
Listen up: Skipping meals will not make you lose weight faster. That strategy backfires because your body thinks food is in short supply, so it slows your metabolism in order to conserve energy. Over time, the result is that when you do eat — even if you consume the same foods as always — your body will be slower to use the calories as fuel, thus creating a backlog of unwanted pounds. If a hectic day makes a sit-down meal impossible, stash an energy bar or a piece of fruit in your purse or briefcase -- anything that will keep you from going hungry.
9. Add 20 minutes of exercise per day.
If you're on a diet, you're probably already working out a couple of times a week. (No? Well, you should start!) But whether you exercise or not, you can get a leg up on all those other weight-loss wannabes by doing a little something extra each day. Take the stairs instead of the elevator; walk to the bus, train, or all the way to the office; window-shop with your best friend rather than sit over coffee. Taking the dog out, gardening and even housecleaning all increase the number of calories you expend. You don't have to go for a jog (although that would help!) to speed up weight loss. Twenty minutes of moderate exercise a day means you'll burn approximately 700 calories.
Drink Up!
10. H20, H20, H20.
You've heard it before, and you'll hear it again. That's because drinking 64 ounces of water daily is one of the easiest ways to speed up weight loss. Your body needs water in order to efficiently metabolize stored fat. When you shortchange your supply, you're likely to slow down that process, meaning it's more difficult for you to burn calories. An easy eight glasses a day (at least!) will keep your system running smoothly.
11. Don't go for the gimmicks.
At any given time, there are dozens of weight-loss hypes in the marketplace that claim to have the ability to take off 10 pounds in 10 days, or whatever. Desperation can tempt us to try anything, but you and I both know these schemes don't work. Save your money, but more importantly, save yourself from the emotional pain when these gimmicks fail. Be realistic. Jump-start your weight-loss program in ways that make sense, and not only will you be thinner, you'll be happier too.
Friday, November 27, 2015
Lose Weight the Right Way
8 Things You Should Never Eat if You're Trying to Lose Weight
"Low-fat" foods are actually your enemy.
By Elizabeth Narins
Lots of experts say it's stupid to forbid yourself from eating certain foods – that denying yourself something you really want to eat can ultimately lead to binge eating and eventual weight gain. So dessert isn't on this list — it's OK to indulge sometimes! But some foods really do deserve the axe — especially if you are trying to lose weight. In which case, avoid these foods (when you can!) to fend off cravings and hunger, and support your efforts to slim down.
1. Any Snack That Only Contains Carbs
When you eat crackers, dry cereal, bread, or rice cakes alone, your body converts the carbs to simple sugars, and sends it directly into your blood stream. In response to the sugar rush, your body produces extra insulin, which helps your body absorb the sugar ASAP. The problem: You end up with low blood sugar and the same hunger pangs that led you to carb it up in the first place. You then may be inclined to reach for sugary foods with no nutritional value to satisfy your need for instant energy, says Dr. Charlie Seltzer, M.D., a weight-loss specialist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
It's not that carbs are off-limits entirely. That'd be crazy — and it's no way to live! The point is that snacks containing a combination of carbs, healthy fats, and protein take longer to digest, and will, therefore, tide you over for longer. Another thing: When you treat snacks as balanced mini meals, they contribute to a balanced diet (instead of just holding you over between full balanced meals). Try a slice of bread with nut butter, or whole grain crackers with low-fat cheese, suggests Rachel Harvest, a registered dietitian affiliated with Tournesol Wellness in New York.
2. Frozen Meals
To make fresh ingredients last extra long in your freezer, food manufacturers often load frozen meals with sodium, a natural preservative, Harvest says. Sodium makes you retain water, which bloats you up – so you won't look and feel your best regardless of how much weight you want to lose.
Also: When food manufacturers try to squeeze a meal's worth of calories into a teeny tiny box, every bite ends up containing lots of calories by design, Harvest adds. While large portions trick your brain into thinking your body is full, the measly portions found in freezer meals are inherently unsatisfying, even though they contain plenty of calories. So skip them if you can, and supersize your portions of lower-calorie foods.
3. High-Fiber Snack Bars
Yes, everyone needs fiber — it keeps your digestive system churning and keeps you feeling full, even when you're cutting back on calories. What you don't need: Nearly one day's worth of fiber (about 25 grams) in one snack bar, with a diet that's otherwise devoid of it, Harvest says. "Fiber intake has to be consistent throughout the day to stave off hunger, improve digestive health, and not cause stomach upset." So ditch the bars, and try to include some kind of naturally fiber-rich produce — any fruit or veggie will do— in every snack and meal.
4. "Low-Fat" Foods
Research suggests that people tend to eat upwards of 30 percent more when they know they're eating a food that's low fat. The problem (besides overeating, which can thwart your weight loss goals fast) is that when food makers remove fat from food, they inevitably remove some of the flavor. To compensate, they often add sugar, which makes the product even worse for you.
5. Juice
It takes several oranges to make one 6-ounce glass of OJ, but when you drink juice, you consume all the calories from those oranges without the natural fruit fibers that fill you up. It's why "even 100 percent juice is just empty calories and another blood sugar spike," Harvest says.
Another thing: Fructose, the natural fruit sugar that makes fruit and fruit juice taste sweet, tricks your body into gaining weight by blunting your body's ability to recognize when it's full, says Melissa Rifkin, a registered dietitian at Montefiore Medical Center in New York and a Rise nutrition coach. This makes you eat more, and increases your risk of developing insulin resistance and diabetes.
6. Artificially Sweetened Drinks
Goodbye, diet soda, and every other sweet-tasting drink that mysteriously contains zero calories! "There are some people whose brains are wired in a way that artificial sweeteners induce or enhance cravings," says Dr. Seltzer. "If drinking a Diet Snapple leads you to the Ben & Jerry's, then you'd certainly be better off with water or water with lemon." Or sparkling water: It's calorie-free, but carbonated, which makes your stomach feel full so you end up eating less overall.
7. Cereal Sold in a Value-Size Box
The same goes for super-sized snack packages. People consume up to 22 percent more when they eat from larger packages, according to a study conducted by researchers at Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab. When people know there is more food available, they subconsciously let themselves eat more of it. The same goes for food you buy on sale: you're more likely to consume more when food costs less, according to another study. That's not to say you should spend more on food to eat less overall — it's unsustainable (and silly). If you're going to spring for a value pack of any packaged food, measure out your serving instead of eating out of the bag so you don't fall pray to your own mind's games.
8. Booze
It's almost impossible to find a weight loss expert who recommends alcohol for weight loss. (Believe me, I tried.) While some cocktails have fewer calories than others, alcohol just doesn't support weight loss. It contains empty calories that don't fill you up or provide any nutrients; softens your resolve so you're more likely to overeat; and impairs your judgement, regardless of your weight loss goals. (It's why you drunk eat pizza, not salad.) But it gets worse: "When alcohol is present in your body, it's considered a toxin that your body wants to get rid of, and becomes you liver's top priority," says Dr. Caroline Cederquist, MD, creator of bistroMD. When your liver is in hardcore detox mode, it can't burn fat as efficiently. Because that's a major buzz kill, skip the buzz altogether if you're serious about losing weight. Or at least cut back on the booze, big time.
"Low-fat" foods are actually your enemy.
By Elizabeth Narins
Lots of experts say it's stupid to forbid yourself from eating certain foods – that denying yourself something you really want to eat can ultimately lead to binge eating and eventual weight gain. So dessert isn't on this list — it's OK to indulge sometimes! But some foods really do deserve the axe — especially if you are trying to lose weight. In which case, avoid these foods (when you can!) to fend off cravings and hunger, and support your efforts to slim down.
1. Any Snack That Only Contains Carbs
When you eat crackers, dry cereal, bread, or rice cakes alone, your body converts the carbs to simple sugars, and sends it directly into your blood stream. In response to the sugar rush, your body produces extra insulin, which helps your body absorb the sugar ASAP. The problem: You end up with low blood sugar and the same hunger pangs that led you to carb it up in the first place. You then may be inclined to reach for sugary foods with no nutritional value to satisfy your need for instant energy, says Dr. Charlie Seltzer, M.D., a weight-loss specialist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
It's not that carbs are off-limits entirely. That'd be crazy — and it's no way to live! The point is that snacks containing a combination of carbs, healthy fats, and protein take longer to digest, and will, therefore, tide you over for longer. Another thing: When you treat snacks as balanced mini meals, they contribute to a balanced diet (instead of just holding you over between full balanced meals). Try a slice of bread with nut butter, or whole grain crackers with low-fat cheese, suggests Rachel Harvest, a registered dietitian affiliated with Tournesol Wellness in New York.
2. Frozen Meals
To make fresh ingredients last extra long in your freezer, food manufacturers often load frozen meals with sodium, a natural preservative, Harvest says. Sodium makes you retain water, which bloats you up – so you won't look and feel your best regardless of how much weight you want to lose.
Also: When food manufacturers try to squeeze a meal's worth of calories into a teeny tiny box, every bite ends up containing lots of calories by design, Harvest adds. While large portions trick your brain into thinking your body is full, the measly portions found in freezer meals are inherently unsatisfying, even though they contain plenty of calories. So skip them if you can, and supersize your portions of lower-calorie foods.
3. High-Fiber Snack Bars
Yes, everyone needs fiber — it keeps your digestive system churning and keeps you feeling full, even when you're cutting back on calories. What you don't need: Nearly one day's worth of fiber (about 25 grams) in one snack bar, with a diet that's otherwise devoid of it, Harvest says. "Fiber intake has to be consistent throughout the day to stave off hunger, improve digestive health, and not cause stomach upset." So ditch the bars, and try to include some kind of naturally fiber-rich produce — any fruit or veggie will do— in every snack and meal.
4. "Low-Fat" Foods
Research suggests that people tend to eat upwards of 30 percent more when they know they're eating a food that's low fat. The problem (besides overeating, which can thwart your weight loss goals fast) is that when food makers remove fat from food, they inevitably remove some of the flavor. To compensate, they often add sugar, which makes the product even worse for you.
5. Juice
It takes several oranges to make one 6-ounce glass of OJ, but when you drink juice, you consume all the calories from those oranges without the natural fruit fibers that fill you up. It's why "even 100 percent juice is just empty calories and another blood sugar spike," Harvest says.
Another thing: Fructose, the natural fruit sugar that makes fruit and fruit juice taste sweet, tricks your body into gaining weight by blunting your body's ability to recognize when it's full, says Melissa Rifkin, a registered dietitian at Montefiore Medical Center in New York and a Rise nutrition coach. This makes you eat more, and increases your risk of developing insulin resistance and diabetes.
6. Artificially Sweetened Drinks
Goodbye, diet soda, and every other sweet-tasting drink that mysteriously contains zero calories! "There are some people whose brains are wired in a way that artificial sweeteners induce or enhance cravings," says Dr. Seltzer. "If drinking a Diet Snapple leads you to the Ben & Jerry's, then you'd certainly be better off with water or water with lemon." Or sparkling water: It's calorie-free, but carbonated, which makes your stomach feel full so you end up eating less overall.
7. Cereal Sold in a Value-Size Box
The same goes for super-sized snack packages. People consume up to 22 percent more when they eat from larger packages, according to a study conducted by researchers at Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab. When people know there is more food available, they subconsciously let themselves eat more of it. The same goes for food you buy on sale: you're more likely to consume more when food costs less, according to another study. That's not to say you should spend more on food to eat less overall — it's unsustainable (and silly). If you're going to spring for a value pack of any packaged food, measure out your serving instead of eating out of the bag so you don't fall pray to your own mind's games.
8. Booze
It's almost impossible to find a weight loss expert who recommends alcohol for weight loss. (Believe me, I tried.) While some cocktails have fewer calories than others, alcohol just doesn't support weight loss. It contains empty calories that don't fill you up or provide any nutrients; softens your resolve so you're more likely to overeat; and impairs your judgement, regardless of your weight loss goals. (It's why you drunk eat pizza, not salad.) But it gets worse: "When alcohol is present in your body, it's considered a toxin that your body wants to get rid of, and becomes you liver's top priority," says Dr. Caroline Cederquist, MD, creator of bistroMD. When your liver is in hardcore detox mode, it can't burn fat as efficiently. Because that's a major buzz kill, skip the buzz altogether if you're serious about losing weight. Or at least cut back on the booze, big time.
Gratitude to Enhance Well-Being
A Year-Round Gratitude Practice Through Mindfulness by Stephanie Cordel
Mindfulness First has been implementing a school-wide mindfulness program at David Crockett Elementary School in Phoenix, Arizona since August of this year. Our goal is to make it the first entirely mindful school in Arizona. Our instructors regularly visit each classroom and practice mindfulness with the students as well as teach them various concepts that relate to it.
Mindfulness is the practice of actively paying attention to what is happening in the present moment without attaching judgment. A structured way of cultivating this awareness is by taking time each day to sit and focus on your breathing. This seemingly simple act of bringing attention to your breathing helps you to recognize all of the thoughts, feelings, and sensations that serve as distractions from the present experience. It is during this time that we learn how to practice bringing attention back to our original focus by developing better awareness and concentration. We practice this routine with students of all ages to aid in their own cultivation of mindfulness.
Gratitude is one of the important concepts that we incorporate into our curriculum and teach to all of our students as well.You may be wondering how gratitude fits into a mindfulness curriculum. Well, because Mindfulness First seeks to provide mindfulness as a social and emotional learning tool, we pair mindfulness with other concepts that are shown to support positive social and emotional development among children of all ages. In fact, there are numerous scientifically-proven physical, psychological, and emotional benefits to consciously practicing gratitude on a regular basis.
Several studies have researched the impact of gratitude across different domains. One study published in the Journal of Happiness Studies found that men and women who wrote letters of gratitude consistently over the course of 3 weeks showed an increase in happiness and life satisfaction along with a decrease in depressive symptoms. Another study in the Journal of Counseling Psychology highlighted that gratitude helps to strengthen and maintain relationships. In the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers report that practicing gratitude positively impacts a person's well-being and people who practice gratitude are even more likely to exercise regularly.
Another reason we link mindfulness with gratitude is that regularly practicing gratitude is not easy. It's not conventionally emphasized and we often forget to consider the aspects of our lives that give us joy, fulfillment, and meaning. This is especially true when we experience tough times. It can be difficult to consciously practice gratitude when we deal with challenging situations. However, it is during those difficult moments that gratitude can help us the most. That's where mindfulness comes in.
When we are experiencing a difficult moment we can easily lose ourselves and our perspective with the intense emotions and consuming thoughts associated with a painful or challenging experience. This entanglement can give a sense of overwhelm and inability to act. If we can take a moment and focus on our breathing when we are caught up with our thoughts and feelings, we can create a pause during this automatic whirlwind. During this pause, if we gently bring awareness to our internal experience of thoughts and feelings, we can become an observer of what is happening instead of a passive participant. This is done by simply recognizing what is actually happening in the moment instead of ruminating, speculating, or judging.
Once we have created enough of a separation to not become consumed by our internal experience, we can then make a choice to shift our thinking by bringing awareness to a different aspect of life such as the things we are grateful for. This active choice of practicing gratitude is how mindfulness can assist in changing the direction of our thoughts and feelings. It is important to keep in mind that this ability to pause during an overwhelming moment takes time to develop. It requires a consistent mindfulness practice to cultivate a habit of purposeful awareness.
At Mindfulness First we recognize the numerous benefits that have been scientifically studied along with the important link between mindfulness and choosing to practice gratitude. Thus we teach gratitude as a tool for students to utilize and a way to personally benefit from when experiencing, particularly when experiencing difficult moments.
During this holiday season don't limit your recognition of the positive things in your life to just this time of the year. Remember that any moment of any day throughout the year provides an opportunity to practice gratitude, which can benefit you all 365 days.
Mindfulness First has been implementing a school-wide mindfulness program at David Crockett Elementary School in Phoenix, Arizona since August of this year. Our goal is to make it the first entirely mindful school in Arizona. Our instructors regularly visit each classroom and practice mindfulness with the students as well as teach them various concepts that relate to it.
Mindfulness is the practice of actively paying attention to what is happening in the present moment without attaching judgment. A structured way of cultivating this awareness is by taking time each day to sit and focus on your breathing. This seemingly simple act of bringing attention to your breathing helps you to recognize all of the thoughts, feelings, and sensations that serve as distractions from the present experience. It is during this time that we learn how to practice bringing attention back to our original focus by developing better awareness and concentration. We practice this routine with students of all ages to aid in their own cultivation of mindfulness.
Gratitude is one of the important concepts that we incorporate into our curriculum and teach to all of our students as well.You may be wondering how gratitude fits into a mindfulness curriculum. Well, because Mindfulness First seeks to provide mindfulness as a social and emotional learning tool, we pair mindfulness with other concepts that are shown to support positive social and emotional development among children of all ages. In fact, there are numerous scientifically-proven physical, psychological, and emotional benefits to consciously practicing gratitude on a regular basis.
Several studies have researched the impact of gratitude across different domains. One study published in the Journal of Happiness Studies found that men and women who wrote letters of gratitude consistently over the course of 3 weeks showed an increase in happiness and life satisfaction along with a decrease in depressive symptoms. Another study in the Journal of Counseling Psychology highlighted that gratitude helps to strengthen and maintain relationships. In the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers report that practicing gratitude positively impacts a person's well-being and people who practice gratitude are even more likely to exercise regularly.
Another reason we link mindfulness with gratitude is that regularly practicing gratitude is not easy. It's not conventionally emphasized and we often forget to consider the aspects of our lives that give us joy, fulfillment, and meaning. This is especially true when we experience tough times. It can be difficult to consciously practice gratitude when we deal with challenging situations. However, it is during those difficult moments that gratitude can help us the most. That's where mindfulness comes in.
When we are experiencing a difficult moment we can easily lose ourselves and our perspective with the intense emotions and consuming thoughts associated with a painful or challenging experience. This entanglement can give a sense of overwhelm and inability to act. If we can take a moment and focus on our breathing when we are caught up with our thoughts and feelings, we can create a pause during this automatic whirlwind. During this pause, if we gently bring awareness to our internal experience of thoughts and feelings, we can become an observer of what is happening instead of a passive participant. This is done by simply recognizing what is actually happening in the moment instead of ruminating, speculating, or judging.
Once we have created enough of a separation to not become consumed by our internal experience, we can then make a choice to shift our thinking by bringing awareness to a different aspect of life such as the things we are grateful for. This active choice of practicing gratitude is how mindfulness can assist in changing the direction of our thoughts and feelings. It is important to keep in mind that this ability to pause during an overwhelming moment takes time to develop. It requires a consistent mindfulness practice to cultivate a habit of purposeful awareness.
At Mindfulness First we recognize the numerous benefits that have been scientifically studied along with the important link between mindfulness and choosing to practice gratitude. Thus we teach gratitude as a tool for students to utilize and a way to personally benefit from when experiencing, particularly when experiencing difficult moments.
During this holiday season don't limit your recognition of the positive things in your life to just this time of the year. Remember that any moment of any day throughout the year provides an opportunity to practice gratitude, which can benefit you all 365 days.
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Habits to Improve Your Life
8 Habits to Stop Now to Improve Your Life
Alicia T. Glenn |
1. Stop making excuses.
You are responsible for your success or lack there of, don't blame others.
You are responsible for your success or lack there of, don't blame others.
2. Stop caring about what other people think.
Don't aim to please others or fit in; aim to please yourself. People will admire you for being authentic and following your passion.
Don't aim to please others or fit in; aim to please yourself. People will admire you for being authentic and following your passion.
3. Stop thinking and start doing.
Stop reading, researching, preparing, and start taking action. You will never be perfectly ready, so sometimes you have to just hit the gas and go.
Stop reading, researching, preparing, and start taking action. You will never be perfectly ready, so sometimes you have to just hit the gas and go.
4. Stop feeling sorry for yourself.
You can't change what has happened to you in the past, so focus on creating a brighter future.
You can't change what has happened to you in the past, so focus on creating a brighter future.
5. Stop being jealous.
If you are envious of what someone else has, that means you don't think you can get it for yourself. You're just as capable as the person that has what you want, so go get it.
If you are envious of what someone else has, that means you don't think you can get it for yourself. You're just as capable as the person that has what you want, so go get it.
6. Stop taking life so seriously.
Take time to stop and smell the roses. Enjoy your journey.
Take time to stop and smell the roses. Enjoy your journey.
7. Stop asking for help.
Don't develop a "help mentality," learn to trust your own abilities.
Don't develop a "help mentality," learn to trust your own abilities.
8. Stop letting fear hold you back.
It's natural to be scared or nervous at times, but in order to grow you have to push yourself outside your comfort zone.
It's natural to be scared or nervous at times, but in order to grow you have to push yourself outside your comfort zone.
Factors Influencing Happiness
Why Happy Is the New Skinny (And That's a Good Thing!) by Amanda Yuill
Reality Bites
As it turns out, happiness has more in common with a slender frame than just the people trying to make a quick buck off the hopes and dreams of the masses. The "how" of physical fitness and happiness mimic each other in several ways...
As it turns out, happiness has more in common with a slender frame than just the people trying to make a quick buck off the hopes and dreams of the masses. The "how" of physical fitness and happiness mimic each other in several ways...
It's In Your Genes
How many times have you heard someone bemoan their genetics when talking about their weight (perhaps you've even used this excuse yourself)? Much like our physical attributes, a large portion of our happiness is inherited -- around 50 percent, according to research by Sonja Lyubomirsky. But before you throw the idea of becoming happier into the same basket as the idea of fitting into your favorite jeans from 10 years ago, pause to consider that there is another 50 percent as yet unaccounted for!
How many times have you heard someone bemoan their genetics when talking about their weight (perhaps you've even used this excuse yourself)? Much like our physical attributes, a large portion of our happiness is inherited -- around 50 percent, according to research by Sonja Lyubomirsky. But before you throw the idea of becoming happier into the same basket as the idea of fitting into your favorite jeans from 10 years ago, pause to consider that there is another 50 percent as yet unaccounted for!
You Are What You Eat
When it comes to our physical health, this mantra is almost universally understood and accepted. Why then is it so hard to accept that our mental state is largely a byproduct of the ideas we consume and allow to reside in our minds? This concept is far from widely understood, and much less accepted -- after all, our happiness is so heavily influenced by things outside of our control -- our job, our boss, our partner and our children. Even the weather can play an important part! But according to Sonja Lyubomirsky's research, only 10 percent of our happiness is influenced by those external circumstances, compared to 40 percent that is directly attributable to the activities that we intentionally take part in.
When it comes to our physical health, this mantra is almost universally understood and accepted. Why then is it so hard to accept that our mental state is largely a byproduct of the ideas we consume and allow to reside in our minds? This concept is far from widely understood, and much less accepted -- after all, our happiness is so heavily influenced by things outside of our control -- our job, our boss, our partner and our children. Even the weather can play an important part! But according to Sonja Lyubomirsky's research, only 10 percent of our happiness is influenced by those external circumstances, compared to 40 percent that is directly attributable to the activities that we intentionally take part in.
This is a great time to pause and consider:
What activities are you doing on a daily basis to make yourself happier?
There is no prescribed list of these activities, because they are different for everyone. For some people a mindfulness or meditation practice does the trick, while others prefer a more adrenaline-charged pursuit. It may be in the realm of ideas or action, alone or in community with others. In short, it doesn't matter what everyone else does to make them happy -- what matters is that what you are doing makes you happy, and that you do it every day.
Do You Even Lift, Bro?
Look around your network and have a guess as to who you know that is actively cultivating happiness. How can you tell? It's not the toned abs or enormous biceps that we look for in people who attend to their mental and emotional wellbeing. Instead, it's a presence. A sense of engagement in the tasks they carry out. An interest in the world around them, and the community they live in. They may not be the cheeriest people you've met -- I know many people who are deeply happy but don't show it in the outgoing and bubbly way we have decided is the way happiness "should" look.
Look around your network and have a guess as to who you know that is actively cultivating happiness. How can you tell? It's not the toned abs or enormous biceps that we look for in people who attend to their mental and emotional wellbeing. Instead, it's a presence. A sense of engagement in the tasks they carry out. An interest in the world around them, and the community they live in. They may not be the cheeriest people you've met -- I know many people who are deeply happy but don't show it in the outgoing and bubbly way we have decided is the way happiness "should" look.
And what about you? Are you taking responsibility for that 40 percent of your happiness that is in your direct control? If not, don't dwell on it -- just start doing something that makes you happy. Not something that distracts you or numbs you against your unhappiness, but something that genuinely interests you and energizes you. Right now.
If you're still reading, I'm assuming that you're one of the people who are actively cultivating happiness. Fantastic! In that case, I'd love to leave you with a couple of great resources to help you keep doing it. Envision Kindness is a wonderful nonprofit dedicated to sharing acts of kindness across the globe -- you can even share your own stories and experiences with their global community. And if you're looking to supercharge your personal happiness practice, the outstanding (and free!) Science of Happiness course by UC Berkeley and edX is starting on Sept. 8, running for eight weeks. It's a great primer on the subject and is sure to teach you something new to include in your daily practice.
Whatever your current level of happiness, the key thing to take away is that, just like your physical fitness, it is completely within your control to improve. And so I guess that happy being the new skinny may not be such a bad thing after all.
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