Eat To Lose Weight

I know, I know, summer is here and we have to get into our bikinis, tankinis or shorts. It is a scary time for most of us. So let’s get ready and do this!

I used to be a bodybuilder and so did my husband so we were very into the mechanics of the body, not just the food but how the food effects the muscles and the tone of the body in order to lose weight. So I am going to give you some rules to follow and ways to not only lose weight but to change  the way you eat that are simple and easy to do, you just have to get into motion and then it becomes a lifestyle.

There is no easy way to do this. There are no shortcuts, you lose all your body fat or none, no spot reducing. This is a way to lose weight but change your lifestyle.

 

Alot of your eating (not diet, we will not use the “diet” word) should be made up of protein. So when starting out I want you to just be aware that you eat protein everytime you eat. So if you have a sandwich, make sure you have protein in that meal. If you have breakfast make sure there is protein. Doesn’t matter how you get it, I used to eat tuna fish for breakfast, protein makes you less hungry, carbs make you hungry.

Here are some specifics:

• Basic rule of thumb is: 70% protein, 20% carbs 10% fat for everyday.
• You should eat the amount of your weight for the amount of grams of protein. I.E. if you weigh 150, you should eat 150 grams of protein a day.
• You should also eat 5 meals a day to lose weight, this keeps your metabolism running fast and not slowing down. Remember, food is fuel, if your body runs out it will start to eat muscle first then fat, which we do not want.
• More than 1500 calories a day will put one pound on you, so watch your caloric intake.
• There is about 35 grams of protein in one cup of chicken.
• The protein in the egg is NOT in the yolk, it is in the white.
• One gram of fat = 9 calories
• One gram of protein = 4 calories
• One gram of carbs = 4 calories
• Remember to drink lots of water, at least 10 glasses a day. Water makes you less hungry, increases your metabolism and helps the fat to process through your body.

Here is how you can figure percentages:

20% of carbs of a 1500 caloric day = 1500 x .2 = 300 Divided By 4 (calories in one gram) = 75 divided by 5 (meals per day) = 15 grams per meal of carbs

• 37 grams per 1 medium potato
• .06 grams per egg
• 45 grams per 1 cup brown rice
• You will be reading the packages until you get familiar with the amounts. Keep a log at first so that you know. I always put 4 columns with Protein/Carbs/Fat/Calories

Here is a typical day:

Breakfast

4 egg whites

1/2 C. oatmeal

Mix these together and make pancakes if you like. Use a little natural jelly for syrup substitute.

Snack

10 almonds

Lunch

1 C chicken

1/2 potato

1 C favorite veggies

Snack

Spoonful of peanut butter

Dinner

Fish

1 C brown Rice

1 C. favorite veggies

Snack

Fruit, veggies or 1 C Greek yogurt

Some other ides to eat:

• Cook potato slices in the microwave for potato chips, here is a too I use.
• Use salsa to spice it up.
• Hot sauce is great for the metabolism.
• Use vinegar on your veggies, also a great metabolic boost.
• Greek all natural yogurt on your potato
• Need a pizza fix, use corn tortilla, slim mozzarella, tomatoes, chicken and spinach.
• Crystal Light is a great sweet tooth remedy, but don’t drink too much, it is an artificial sweetener.
•  Greek all natural yogurt instead of sour cream.
• Humus is a good protein
• Snack on dried fruit, but be careful it takes alot of water out of you.
• Fruit is  natural sugar, so this will make you fill with water and not show as much of your muscle tone, so don’t go crazy on fruit.
• Veggies are free, you can eat as many as you would like, but try and keep them fresh not frozen.

Some Rules OF Thumb:

1. A big help is to have all of you meals ready to go, portioned out. 
2. Serve yourself in a small bowl or plate, very small, that way you will not fill it and finish it.
3. CHEAT. If you have a craving, fill it, or else you will find yourself eating crazy trying to fill it. Don’t feel guilty, just remember that one flat tire is better than 4, so eat and then get back on your life change.
4. Some cooking essentials:
5. use egg whites instead of the whole egg, so 2 eggs = 4 egg whites
6. use applesauce instead of oil to bake
7. don’t use fake sugar use natural sugar, sweeten things with fruit or all natural jelly.
8. use wheat flour
9. wheat or brown rice, quinoa
10. microwave potatoes to make potato chips
11. have coffee with a little sweetener, caffeine is a good metabolic booster

Proteins

• Chicken
• Fish
• Tuna
• Eggs
• Little meat, 1 per week or 2 weeks
• Pork if you like it.
• Legumes

Carbs

• potato
• brown rice
• pasta once a month if you want.
• Veggies

Fat

• peanut butter
• egg yolk
• natural oils

Do some vigorous exercise of some sort everyday, then hit the gym or yoga 3 times a week. Walk, hike, lift milk bottles, water bottles or bricks at home, walk your dog, mow the lawn, be creative, do something every day.

Don’t look at the scale look at your clothes and look in the mirror. Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are really looking into lifting for muscle you will weigh more. Be patient when on a weight lose, this should be a life style change, hang in there!

Let me know how you are doing. What weight did you start at and how are your clothes fitting monthly. Send pictures, inspire others!

Have fun.