Be Fitspired

According to the article 6 Easy Ways to Manage Your Weight (even though the article only lists 5), two-thirds of the American population is overweight or obese. This is due to the busy lifestyles that our society leads, whether it be working full-time, raising a family, or both. Because we lead these lifestyles, fast foods and “easy” foods are consumed, which have probably contributed to the 45% weight increase since 1960.

The 5 Tips that the article mentions are…

• Make a Top 10 List - Meaning know your foods. List the ten foods that you eat on  a regular basis and find out the nutritional content of each. Perhaps you aren’t getting the nutritional value that you were hoping to with the bag of chips or afternoon candy bar that you were hoping? This is a great way to find out. I’ve personally made a Top 10 List which consists of the following:
  1. 2 Slices Wheat Bread - 110 Cal/1.5 Fat/5 Fiber
  2. 1/2 Cup FF Milk - 45 Cal/0 Fat/0 Fiber
  3. 94% FF Popcorn - 120 Cal/2 Fat/8 Fiber
  4. 1/4 Cup Almonds - 164 Cal/14 Fat/3 Fiber
  5. 1 Cup Strawberries - 46 Cal/0 Fat/3 Fiber
  6. 1 Banana - 72 Cal/0 Fat/2 Fiber
  7. Burger King BK Veggie (no mayo) - 340 Cal/8 Fat/7 Fiber
  8. Jamba Juice 16 oz. Mango Mantra -  170 Cal/0.5 Fat/3 Fiber
  9. 1/2 Cup Hummus - 218 Cal/10 Fat/5 Fiber
  10. 10. 1 Cup Baby Carrots - 80 Cal/0 Fat/4 Fiber
• Pare Down Portions - According to the article, the size of a portion should be no larger than the size of your fist. A proper portion ensures proper digestion.
• Exercise daily - I don’t know how much I can stress on this, but exercise, exercise, exercise! Yes, you can cut down on calories and still lose weight, but exercising on a daily basis will give you optimum health. Even just 15 minutes of house cleaning and 15 minutes of walking the dog - These are still forms of exercise. To maintain your weight, you should exercise for 30 minutes per day, 4 to five days per week. Taking a day or two off will allow your muscles to rest and you’ll be refreshed and ready for an even more energized workout!
• Phase Out Soda - This is coming from someone who would drink soda with EVERYTHING! I remember even drinking sodas in the morning as a child. I loved Diet Pepsi, Diet Coke, Diet Dr. Pepper…Yes, these are all DIET sodas, but they are just as bad as drinking the regular stuff. Kill those cravings with water. You can even dress up your water with a slice or lemon or a slice of cucumber. These will aid in digestion.
• Watch Out For Those “Healthy” Foods -Yes, I’ve seen it all too much, even with myself no more than three years ago. Eating “healthy” to me was ordering a cobb salad, topped with crispy chicken, eggs, bacon, cheese, blue cheese crumbles, and then drenching it in blue cheese salad dressing. Just because it’s a salad, you still need to be smart about it. If I were to order a cobb salad now, I’d order it as, “A cobb salad, with grilled chicken on the side (I don’t eat meat, so maybe whoever I’m eating with would want it), eggs on the side, no bacon, blue cheese crumbles on the side, and no dressing, just lemon wedges.” By ordering the toppings on the side, you have the control of what to put on your salad. The lemon wedges will be used in place of the dressing, and cut down the calories even more.

All in all, the key to managing your weight is just using your own good judgment. Make the right choices and you’ll be able to maintain!

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