Who’s Pushing Food Your Way?
One of my girls on the The Biggest Loser had this problem: Her mother was always pushing food on her. I told her exactly what I’m telling you: Acknowledge these behaviors. Recognize the problems and sit the people in question down and let them know that you are trying to lose weight and be healthy. Tell them how they can help and support you. Chances are they’ll want to. The end result for this contestant was her mother learned new recipes so that she could cook for her daughter without sabotaging her health and happiness.
We count on the people closest to us to support us through thick and thin. Realizing that a loved one may be sabotaging your efforts to get in shape, whether they are conscious of their behavior or not, can be tough to swallow and address. Take a good look at your current significant relationships to see how they affect your life both on a day-to-day level and on a larger scale. Is anyone in your circle a food-pusher?
Sure, it seems innocent enough. These people may not realize what they are doing, or they may think they are doing it out of love. The bottom line is that their way of loving you is through food. It’s time to stop it for good.
Buzz has been building for a few months as America anticipates the release of the Wii Fit, the newest game for the mega-hyped Nintendo game machine. Thanks to the Wii Sports game that comes with most newly purchased Wiis, a lot of people were using the fast-action tennis, baseball and boxing matches as a replacement for cardio activity at the gym. DietsInReview first introduced the coming of Wii Fit back in January, before any definitive dates had been set.
This Wednesday, May 21, the Wii Fit will be available for purchase, for about $90. The balance board connects to the Wii wirelessly just as a remote would, and from that you can do a broad variety of exercises. With the Wii Fit you can follow along with the instruction on-screen and do yoga, stretches, aerobics, lunges, squats and dancing. The Wii Fit will also monitor how many calories you’ve burned, your BMI and how your strength increases.
Wii Fit recommends 30-45 minutes of activity each day to really see benefits from using it as a weight loss or fitness tool. This is exactly what most fitness professionals would recommend- at least 30 minutes on most days of the week. For a one-time investment of $90, the Wii Fit could potentially save you money on expensive gym memberships, while creating a fitness environment your entire family can enjoy from the comfort of your own home.
This really is a spectacular advancement in video gaming. Video games are notoriously vilified for giving people young and old an excuse to be completely stationary and veg out for hours on end playing games. Wii Fit gives you all the of the gamer feel, without the gamer guilt, turning that holiday gift investment into something of real value for you and your family.
We’re very pleased to have guest blogger, Roni from WeightWatchen.com, join us again to share her experience with Weight Watchers Meetings.
Attending Weight Watchers meetings for just about three years I’ve seen it all. Cheering for those who lost weight, cried with those who struggled and offered a helping had to those who asked. I’ve never been to an AA meeting, but I’ve often compared the experience. I mean, really, a group of people coming together to overcome an addiction, sounds pretty close to me.
Some may not understand the purpose of the meeting. Can’t you take the materials and just leave? The short answer is, yes, yes you can. No one requires a Weight Watchers member to stay for the meetings, but it’s a large part of the plan. Let’s be honest, how many dieters know what they should and should not be eating? How many know they have to reduce their portion sizes? Increase their exercise? I’d wager quite a few. But what makes Weight Watchers different is the meetings.
So what actually goes on in there?
Well, if you are a traditional Weight Watchers member, after you weigh in you have the option of staying for the weekly meeting. Each week the leader brings up a special topic. It may be seasonal based, like planning for vacations in the summer or how to handle holiday parties. It may be goal orientated, like how to storyboard or visualize your goals. Whatever the topic may be most meetings start with the leader asking if anyone has anything to celebrate. Celebrations can include a weight loss or a non-scale victory like working out consistently or getting into a smaller size. One meeting I had everyone cheer because I got my husband to eat cauliflower! Whatever it may be the leader asks the participants to share. After the share session the topic is discussed. Participants are again asked to offer their insights and ask questions. The meeting ends with an optional overview of the plan for anyone who may be new or wants a refresher. They are really quite simple, yet they offer that sense of community and shared experience that some of us need.
So if you thought there was some crazy cult rituals or sacrifices, I’m sorry to disappoint. It really is just people sharing their weekly experiences with a common goal. Something this Weight Watchers lifetime member found invaluable on her journey of losing 70lbs.
Reader Question: I’m a man training for an event and have three weeks left to lose my last five pounds. Any suggestions?
Human beings are creatures of habit and don’t like change all that much. Well, when it comes to your diet and work out routines, change is a must. The body adapts rather quickly to your normal diet and exercise routine, thus causing a plateau. The weight loss plateau occurs because your body thinks there is a famine and has slowed down your metabolism in order to conserve calories.
One way to overcome this plateau is to increase your activity level. Increasing your activity level will “speed up” your metabolism and re-start weight loss. For example: if you exercise 3 days a week for 30 minutes a day, increase to 4 or 5 times a week for 35 to 45 minutes each day.
Another way is to increase your fiber intake. Fiber slows the digestion process which in turn makes you feel satisfied longer. It also provides bulk, which makes you feel full. There are two types of fiber: Soluble fiber, such as oatmeal, dissolves in water to create a gel-like substance that attaches to fats and ushers them out of the body; Insoluble fiber doesn’t dissolve during digestion and helps keep our bodies “regular” by retaining water and helping to move waste through the intestinal tract.
So, increase that workout intensity and frequency, and try and intake 25 to 30 grams of fiber a day.
Losing weight is usually considered a personal matter, for the sake of personal health betterment. Now, you may need to think about losing weight… to save the planet!
That’s right, with rising waist sizes comes increased concerns about its contributions to global warming.
According to a team at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, obese and overweight people require more fuel to transport themselves and the food that they eat. The problem will only get worse as the population grows in every sense of the word.
Now, before you think that this is some sort of crude discriminatory measure, read on. Since thinner people eat less and are more likely to walk than rely on cars, a slimmer population lowers the demand for the fuel that transports all that extra food, said researcher Phil Edwards.
Most people don’t think about food being an environmental issue. But it’s important because, as Edwards points out, 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions stem from agriculture. So, for the sake of your future and the rest of mankind, it’s time to drop those pounds!
