Choose Volume
The volume of the food you eat plays a role in eating less calories overall. There is a simple analogy that can describe this: an apple fills up more space (on a shelf and in your stomach) than 3 small pieces of chocolate yet the chocolate contains more calories. Choose the apple instead and you are more likely to fill your stomach up a bit and consume less food later on.
A researcher out of Penn State University coined this approach “Volumetrics” and she actually has research to back her recommendations. Dr. Rolls’ research has shown that certain foods are considered low in energy density; i.e. they fill a lot of volume but contain few calories. These foods include: non-starchy vegetables, broth-based soups and most fruits. How do you spot a food that falls into the low energy dense category? They typically have high water content (think of the water in a watermelon or in iceberg lettuce), are often high in fiber. It isn’t rocket science and these are the foods dietitians have recommended for years. While eating such foods throughout the day is great, it is especially good to eat such foods before you eat the rest of your meal. Don’t save your soup or salad for last. Eat it prior to digging into that steak and baked potato and chances are, you’ll be too full to finish your meal.
Another alternative is to try Perfect Meal as a snack between meals. This vanilla or chocolate drink mix is full of native whey protein, digestion-supporting probiotics and a proprietary healthy fiber blend that fill you up so that you don’t want to overindulge. Perfect Meal contains a Glycemic Balance Blend and Fibertrol to increase satiety, slow digestion of carbohydrates and to help maintain already healthy blood sugar levels and glycemic response for balanced energy.†
Consume Enough Calories
Many of us are so concerned about cutting calories that we haven’t stopped to think “are we eating enough?” While it is more common to over consume versus under consume, let’s take a look at this scenario just in case. There are a few reasons that you don’t want to cut your calories too low (this cut-off level is often considered about 1,200 calories for women and 1,500 for men). Eat too little and the likelihood of bingeing later is greater. In addition, our metabolism does slow down when we consume a very low calorie diet for an extended period of time. You need fuel (calories) to get your metabolism kicked up throughout the day.
Along with a healthy diet and exercise, FücoThin is another great way to increase your metabolism. FücoThin contains Xanthigen, the first highly concentrated fucoxanthin formula with a clinically proven thermogenic effect that won’t cause jitters or lost sleep.† Another great thing about FücoThin is that it specifically supports the metabolism or burning of fat in white adipose tissue, including belly fat.†
Keep a Food & Exercise Records
As tedious as it sounds, logging the food you eat (even if you don’t give it to a dietitian to look over but instead just keep it for your own eyes) makes you accountable for what you are putting into your mouth. Likewise, so does writing down when you exercise and what you’ve done to move your body. The fact is that many of us underestimate our caloric intake and then can’t understand why we aren’t losing weight. When you actually log your food and beverages, you are more likely to realize how much you are eating and also stop and think twice before finishing that leftover few bites of birthday cake your son didn’t eat.
Beverage Choices
Many people forget that the calories in beverages count. In fact, an 8 oz glass of juice could contain 170 calories depending on which one you choose. Always take into consideration the calorie content of the beverages you consume and their nutritional value. Some great choices for beverages include: herbal teas (preferably organic) – unsweetend or with a small amount of honey or Stevia, raw vegetable and fruit juice, purified water with a dash of lemon, lime or just a bit of juice, and if you must have coffee, choose organic coffee with a just a dash of cream and sweetener.
So take a good hard look at what you are consuming by keeping a diet record. Consume low energy dense foods, low calorie beverages and of course, keep moving – even if that means jumping in the bouncehouse along with a bunch of 8 year olds, go for it!
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