Maintaining Weight and Activity Goals

We started our lifestyle change by setting goals. Then we monitored our own progress ourselves. And when there were problems, we coped with the unexpected situations and tried to solve our problems to the best of our ability. Okay, we did all that. Are we home free yet?

No, for the simple reason that the aforementioned steps are just the beginning. We will have to do some follow-up so we can maintain our changing lifestyle. A coach will be a good one to have. It's a good feeling to know that we can check in with our coach at the end of the week and get some feedback.

And believe it or not, we do not stop here. As we move toward achieving our weight and activity goals, we will need an accountability plan that will name the person who we will check in to see how we are doing and how often we have to check in with this person.

Once we achieve our weight and activity goals, we may have to meet with our coach less often. This may mean, instead of a weekly check-up, we may just have to see him every two weeks. As we progress, we will keep spacing out the follow-up schedule. With this scenario, we can't help but succeed, eh?

Let us see what else we can do to ensure success. One tool that will certainly be good to have in our corner is a support system that will cheer us on, encourage us and pick us up when we fall. We will make a list of family members, co-workers and friends who will be willing to support us.

We will surround ourselves with these positive people instead of the ones who will disapprove and resent our effort. People who will not tease us into eating more and breaking our new-found healthy lifestyle habits will be good to have around.

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Maintaining Weight and Activity Goals

We started our lifestyle change by setting goals. Then we monitored our own progress ourselves. And when there were problems, we coped with the unexpected situations and tried to solve our problems to the best of our ability. Okay, we did all that. Are we home free yet?

No, for the simple reason that the aforementioned steps are just the beginning. We will have to do some follow-up so we can maintain our changing lifestyle. A coach will be a good one to have. To know that we can check in with our coach at the end of the week and get some feedback.

And believe it or not, we do not stop here. As we move toward achieving our weight and activity goals, we will need an accountability plan that will name the person who we will check in to see how we are doing and how often we have to check in with this person.

Once we achieve our weight and activity goals, we may have to meet with our coach less often. This may mean, instead of a weekly check-up, we may just have to see him every two weeks. As we progress, we will keep spacing out the follow-up schedule. With this scenario, we can't help but succeed, eh?

Let us see what else we can do to ensure success. One tool that will certainly be good to have in our corner is a support system that will cheer us on, encourage us and pick us up when we fall. We will make a list of family members, co-workers and friends who will be willing to support us.

We will surround ourselves with these positive people instead of the ones who will disapprove and resent our effort. People who will not tease us into eating more and breaking our new-found healthy lifestyle habits will be good to have around.

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Coping with the Unexpected

The highways to a successful lifestyle change is full of road blocks. Even though we're ready for the change and have set reasonable goals, they can still sneak in. We're doing our part and writing down all we eat and the exercise we do. We're making progress and then wham! Something is stopping us from going ahead.

That is why any plans need to expect impediments that can sabotage the achievement. With our plans we need to anticipate problems that may come up and think of what we can do to solve them before they come. This kind of thinking is part and parcel of our plan to beat diabetes at its game.

So let us see what we can do when a problem does arise. First we have to describe the specifics of the problem which could be skipping breakfast and eating foods that can sabotage our reaching our weight loss goal. What is triggering the situation?

Then plan on possible solutions. If waking up late is behind skipping breakfast, maybe setting up the alarm earlier will help. Also if we are in a rush, we can grab an apple to eat on the way to work. If at the meeting, Danish pastries are served, we can have a muffin instead.

If we are tempted to eat the pastries, then let's eat a light lunch. But some will feel guilty and skip lunch. Not us, for we will have a salad. When we are tired and hungry when we get home, we can have a snack and rest. Still too tired to prepare supper? Heat up a light frozen dinner in the microwave.

At TV time when we are tempted to eat potato chips, we will have pretzels and carrots instead. If a friend comes to visit and suggest a take out of fried chicken, order a salad with it. If we are tempted to have some of the fried chicken, we will just have to plan for a better tomorrow.

Now we know there are possible solutions. We can try one solution and if it does not work, we can try the next one in the list. Then we can make a plan that will work against the triggers that make us overeat. Try the first plan and if that does not work, try the next one or make adjustments, but what we will not do is stop trying.

For instance, with the problem of skipping breakfast, the plan perhaps is to buy fruits, English muffins, pretzels, and carrots we can keep at home and take some to the work place. And then if we do our part and have a healthy breakfast at least four out of five mornings, a week, we can plan to reward ourselves. We can see a movie in the weekend. Hurrah!

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Recording Food Consumption and Activity

Let's keep a journal on the food we eat. Research has shown that those who keep track of their food intake are likely to jot down lower than the actual consumption. And this is not because we want to cheat but that it is easy to forget what we have eaten in the morning when we do our log in the evening.

This honest mistake is as much as 20%. So if our record shows we've eaten 1000 calories, the real consumption is more likely close to 1200 calories. It is understandable to make this mistake especially if we are multi-tasking. We tend to forget how much we've eaten when we're socializing.

When recording the activity minutes, let us bear in mind to record those activities that are similar to brisk walking for ten minutes or more. Aerobic and strength training activities should be recorded separately and let's record the days when we don't exercise as well.

Exercise makes one's muscle respond better to insulin and goes on for thirty six hours and less so it's good to exercise at least every other day. It should not be any less than this. The best way is to exercise at least five to six days a week.

When recording the food intake, it's good to note the time and the mood we're in and how hungry we were before the meal, and how satisfied after the meal. It is not good either to eat two big meals. What is better is to spread the calories around.

Let us be careful also of the beverage as they contribute a lot of calories. Mind you, diet drinks are better than regular sodas. And there's something much better than this. Eating fruits is better because aside from the fiber, they help lower blood sugar level. Be careful of alcohol that can add calories too and worst, reduce self-control.

When we look back to the journal of foods and exercise, we will notice a pattern. We will see how our eating habits are linked to how we feel. Then we can try to make some adjustments. We will get rid of the ones that give us trouble and emphasize those that allow us to be healthy.

Don't get me wrong. Not everything will go as planned. There will be days when we may step back. But really let us accept that for an endeavor such as this, it may be more like two steps forward and one step back. And anyway, we will be there for each other, won't we?

Action Time to Lose Weight

Now that we have set our goals for weight and activity, it's action time. And while we're putting our plans to reach our goals, let's not forget that ultimately, we want to prevent or delay diabetes and the complications that may come with the disease.

In our effort, we will use a program that has been proven effective in a clinical test called the Diabetes Prevention Program. If we employ the principles that have been successfully tested by DPP, we will be on the road to realizing our goals.

Now let's review the recommended goals of the Diabetes Prevention Program or DPP. The recommended weight goal to lose one or two pounds a week are as follows. They are between 500 t0 1000 calories lower than the number needed to maintain the weight:

Recommended Daily Amounts of Fat and Calories

Starting Weight in Pounds; Fat in Grams; Calories;
250-300; 55; 2000;
220-245; 50; 1800;
175-215; 42; 1500;
120-170; 33; 1200;

The numbers of fat and calories are what we need to lose one or two pounds a week. To achieve our goal, we will have to shop better to make sure we buy foods that will not go over the numbers recommended for our starting weight.

We will also have to learn to prepare food in healthier way like broiling instead of frying and using low-fat products. We may have to change our eating habits. We may have to eat every four hours so we don't get too hungry. Why? Because getting too hungry could make us overeat.

We don't stop here. We will have to jot down what we eat and the activity we do to monitor closely our effort to reach our goal. And let's weigh ourselves every day at the same time and wearing the same type of clothing, preferably in the morning before the first meal.

If after three weeks we have not lost weight, then we will have to look back to see what's holding us up. Perhaps we are making a mistake in recording what we eat. It is easy to mistake portions between 3 and 5 ounces of steak. We may also be using one tablespoon of butter instead of one teaspoon.

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Our Goals for Moving More

We also have to set a goal for the activities we plan to undertake. What? Goals again? Why do we have to set these goals, you asked? Well, we can't just approach any change without a plan of action. We can't be like Speedy Gonzales and go on helter-skelter, willy-nilly or whatever you call it.

First we will do is assess where we are. The starting point of where we are will determine what we will do as we begin this life-changing endeavor. Are we on the couch potato stage or are training to join a marathon? Two different stages will need to start at a different level.

We want to set goals that are within reach. If we are not presently active, do we insist on getting ready for a marathon? Of course not. We will just be setting ourselves up for failure. The best way is to start slow. Perhaps take a walk for ten minutes a day, three times a week.

Then make that five days a week. Once we get comfortable we can graduate to twenty minutes a day, and so on. We can keep increasing our goal. And as we become comfortable, have established the habit and have built our strength, then we can increase our activity to 30 minutes a day.

We can congratulate ourselves then because 30 minutes a day is the minimum exercise goal that has been advocated by authorities in the field. It will be good for us to record our activity in the journal for then we will be able to track our progress better.

Did you know we can use a pedometer to record the number of steps we take each day? What is a pedometer? It is a small inexpensive contraption that will record our steps. This way, we will have real help in measuring our level of activity.

It is also a good idea to let the doctor know about the plan. We never know if we have a condition that can be exacerbated by exercise. Disease of the eyes will be a good reason not to do any strenuous activity but the doctor may approve walking as a form of exercise.

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How Fast Do We Lose the Weight?

Now that we have set the goal as to how much weight to lose, we will set the rate as to how fast do we lose it. So what weekly weight loss do we try to set? We will try to lose the weight in a most reasonable rate. We do not want to do it too fast.

The trouble in setting a rate for a weekly weight loss is that most are not happy with a loss of just one pound a week. No, not even with a weekly weight loss of two pounds. They want to lose weight at a fast and furious rate.

Is it wise to lose weight as fast as one can do it? No, for the safe and healthy way to lose weight is a gradual loss of one or two pounds a week. Some people find this too slow but really if they lose one or two pounds a week, most will lose at least 5 to 10% of their weight in just six months.

Now, we have to admit that losing 5 to 10% of the body weight is quite remarkable. Let us just think of how long it took us to gain that weight. And let us also think of how many calories do we cut in order to lose that weight gain. Convinced? Not yet? Okay, just read on.

If we want to lose one pound per week, we need to reduce our food consumption by 500 calories a day, seven days a week. That's a total of 3500 calories per week. Why is that? For the simple reason that one pound of fat has 3500 calories of energy. Wait, I am not finished yet. We have another option.

We may elect to burn up those 500 calories per day by walking fast every day for five miles. How many of us can do this especially at the start of our weight loss program when we are used to the sedentary life style for so long? I'm telling you, this fact alone will make us want to quit before we even get started.

Okay, I know what you're thinking. We can expend this energy some other way. We can do it by combining some form of less energy consumption and more energy usage. That just makes me tired before I can even start trying to lose the weight I set.

And don't get me started on trying to lose two pounds a week instead of the one pound illustrated above. Why? Because then I will have to eat less than 1000 calories a day or walk briskly for 10 miles a day, both for seven days a week. Not on your life! I will not have time for anything else if I do it this way.

So you see, losing one or two pounds a week already requires a lot of effort. It is better for us to set our weekly rate of weight loss at one or two pounds a week. It is more sensible, healthier this way. Insisting on doing it faster will just set the stage for failure. And we do not want to fail. This is too important for our health to prevent or delay diabetes.

How Much Weight to Lose

How much weight do we want to lose? That is the question that baffles a lot of people but this matter needs not confuse us. This will just keep us moving around and around a circle and not work on the actual need we have to change our lifestyle.

Now let's see. The first thing to do is to study the information that is out there. We know that the recommendation is a weight loss of 10% of the body weight. Why did the experts recommend this figure? Because researches on this issue have shown that this 10% loss has demonstrated cardiovascular risk improvement.

Now, don't go all way out and set goals according to the above pronouncement. Let's use it as a guide because it does not mean that losing more will not bring benefit. It also depends on one's body mass to start with. Besides, studies have also shown that a loss of 5 to 7% resulted in 58% decrease in the development of diabetes.

Some obese people will not want to achieve just a 10% weight loss. They want to lose more than that despite counseling that 10 to 15% reduction is reasonable enough. As a matter of fact a 10% loss for the overweight is easily achieved. And it will make a difference as well.

So how do we figure out how much weight to lose? Experts say the formula is to multiply the current weight by the percentage of the desired weight loss. For example if our weight is 200 pounds and we want to lose 10%, we multiply those two figures and arrive at 20 pounds as the goal of weight loss.

The loss of 20 pounds will reduce the risk for diabetes and make the cardiovascular risk better. But so would a 5% weight loss which in this case is only 10 pounds. Isn’t that great? To think that losing 10 pounds may prevent diabetes and cardiovascular disease is awesome.

So let’s roll our sleeves and get going. And we do not have to stop at 10 pounds for this is only our first goal. Once we reach this goal of 190 pounds, we can start over with another goal of 5% weight and so on and so on until we reach our dream weight. Wow! Bikini, here I come.

This is great because we are not setting our goal too high (not the bikini goal, mind you). This way we will not be discouraged and have to give up on something that will be of enormous benefit for our health. This is so within our reach it is empowering.

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Setting the Goals to Change Lifestyle

Goal setting is important in every endeavor but I believe nowhere is it more vital than in plans to change the lifestyle. For one thing it will give us not only the way to change but also the target we want to reach. Like with other things, this goal setting will have essentials to make it a success. Here they are:

• Set goals that are specific enough so that they can be assessed easily as to whether they are being achieved. For example, saying "I will eat healthy food" is not specific enough but "I will consume 1500 calories a day" is better because that is something we can measure.


• Set goals with the time specified as to when the target should be reached. For example, saying "I will lose weight" is not as good as "I will lose four pounds in one month."


• Set goals that are realistic where we can be confident that we can achieve those goals. For instance, let's not say "I will never go to buffets again" but instead let's say "I'll try not to go to buffets but if I find myself there with friends or family, I will eat smaller portions and choose foods that will make me healthy."


• Set goals that stress the positive rather than the negative. Instead of saying "I will not eat desserts" say "I will eat fruits for dessert."


• Set goals that consider winning in small ways rather than giant leaps. Why? Because trying to change one's lifestyle requires planning that takes time and effort.


• Set goals that recognize and reward small gains. For example, saying "I will cut down my restaurant meals to two a week" is not as good as "If I cut down my restaurant meals to twice a week, I will buy myself a nice scarf with the money I save".

There you have the elements that will lead to a successful goal setting. Hopefully, this will stop us from talking to ourselves in a negative way and avoid the use of "should" as this word could just make us resentful later on. Next time I blog, I will focus on how much weight loss to set as a goal.

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Getting Ready to Set Goals

Setting goals is part and parcel of lifestyle change. If they are clear, then all self-talks could be eliminated. Talking to oneself like oh, this is delicious, I may not see this again so I better eat a lot of it. I paid for this buffet; I better eat as much as I can so I can get my money's worth.

When setting goals, it is wise to avoid extremes. I will never touch dessert again. I will walk for half an hour every day after lunch. Pronouncements like these are unrealistic. Then we fall back, we may just go back to our task on hand, that is to continue on our effort to change our lifestyle.

We have to remember that if we slip back, all we have to do is get up and get going again. We have to accept the fact this endeavor usually consists of two steps forward and one step back. Now that give us a full step forward, doesn't it? That is something to celebrate.

It is easy to make excuses and blame someone else for our inability to focus on our goal. Oh, I have to buy these chips because my family loves them. Why not buy them a healthy snack so everyone can be healthy? This way we are accepting our responsibility instead of blaming something else.

Here's another one. Oh, I can't walk, it's too cold outside. Hey, go to the mall and walk there. Or dress in layers and start walking. Chances are as we walk, we will feel warmer. How is that for turning a negative into something positive?

Let us get rid of the word should in our dictionary for that word might just make us feel guilty. Instead of saying I should eat fruits, let's say I want to eat fruits because they will make me healthy. Instead of saying I should exercise, say I want to exercise because it will make feel better.

Going on a cruise? Watch out for statistics shows a passenger gains 1.25 pounds each day while cruising. After the cruise and we find out we've gained four pounds, we'll just feel like giving up. What's the point, I might as well eat everything I want.

Why not say, I did well. I only gained four pounds when statistics says I should have gained 9.75 pounds. I did well; it must be because I walked their running track every day. Now I will focus more on my losing weight. I enjoyed that cruise. I am prepared to do as much as I can to lose weight now. Isn't that helpful way to look at it? Positives, my friends, I will take them anytime over the negatives.

Some people criticize themselves all the time. I am fat and a failure. I didn't even exercise all week. I am really lazy. Instead, think of it as just a slip. Having a slip is okay. Accept it and go back to the goal. Don't give up and say instead that you've learned that something from the slip and be determined to try again.

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The Role Emotions Play in Eating

October 9, 2007

Have you heard about comfort food? That's what we sometimes do. Turn to food for comfort. Often, what we eat and how much we eat depend on how we feel. We eat to soothe the pain we feel whether it's physical or emotional hurt.

And the bad thing is turning to food does not really completely heal us. Whatever we're feeling is just temporarily covered up and because it's temporary, we do it again and again until it becomes a habit. We cope with the pain by eating.

We also use food as a reward, don't we? Had a bad day in the office? Well, just have a good meal to forget the hurt. We have to reward ourselves somehow. What could be better than having a special meal? We need this treat after a long hard day at work. Not!

Some of us may have too much time and so we get bored. And what do we do to cope with this monotonous life? Food, there's always food. The thrill of eating something new will make life more interesting. We take a break from the tediousness of responsibilities and there is food.

They say that angry people eat food that is harder to chew. Sad and depressed people turn to comfort foods. These bring back happy memories of a carefree childhood. Feeling stressed? Have cookies and milk, the way mother used to give us after school.

We have just dealt with the bad feelings. How about the good ones like Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners? That's when we eat the most, almost like eating ourselves to death. We get so uncomfortably full, all we can do is drop on a couch and take a nap.

So you see both good and bad emotions can lead us to overeating. Is there something we can do to fight this? Of course, there are things we can do. Every challenge comes with a solution. And of course we will try our best to be part of any solution.

We'll write about our feelings. We'll a journal or blog about it like what I'm doing now. This way we're putting them out in the open instead of covering them up with food. If you don't like writing, talk about it with a friend or a family member you trust.

Make a list of how you can reward yourself with other things instead of just food. Reward yourself by going to the library where you can read a magazine or a book or surf the net. Take a hot bath or go for a swim. Take a walk or go ride a bike or fly a kite. The list is endless.

Do you have a counselor or a therapist? Talk to this person about your feelings. Maybe both of you can come up with other options to do when you're sad and lonely. Or call a long-lost friend long distance. If you're worried about the cost, get yourself a Yak account that will cost you pennies for long distance calls. Whatever it is, just do something instead of eat.

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Value Meals and Caffe Latte

A quarter pounder with cheese has about 530 calories at least at the last time it was analyzed. But convert that into a medium value with fries and medium drink added and what have we got? A whopping 1190 calories, that's what. And don't even make me start thinking of a large value meal because that will add up to 1380 calories.

Now black coffee does not have calories. In fact, it's one of the free foods in the exchange diet. And usually, a latte is not made with cream but with milk. This sounds like it is a wise choice for us but don't jump into conclusion just yet.

If we graduate from a coffee that has low-fat milk to a grand caffe latte each and every day, we will be richer by 250 calories. And what does this translate into, weight-wise? A half a pound weight gain per week. That's 26 pounds a year!

How about if we stick to a tall latte with skim milk that is only 120 calories? And this healthier choice has zero grams of fat? If we have this every day, we will cut our weight gain by half. We will gain thirteen pounds a year instead of the scary 26 pounds.

So how do we eat in this type of environment when we dream of the quarter pounder at night and crave for a caffe lattee all day long? Well, it will take a lot of determination, doesn't it? We will switch off those marketing strategies and build our own plethora of plans to fight this.

I am not talking about suing these places for making us fat because they did not put the food and drink into our system. We did that all ourselves. What I want us to do is to think of ways and means to fight these temptations so we can be healthier and stop diabetes along with its complications.

Let us make a pact to be careful of beverages. These can supply us with a lot of calories. Let’s take this example. A small drink of 16 ounces (They call that small? Small used to be 6 ounces.) has 150 calories. But if we supersize that to 42 ounces, what do we get? Calories of 410! Oh, okay there’s still zero fat but 410 calories, give me a break!

Let’s review the nutrition information before we buy anything. We will be able to make wise choices to keep us healthy. Most restaurants have this information as well. I know Swiss Chalet has it if you ask for it. This way you will know what we’ll put in our body before we put out the wallet.

Let’s stay away from buffets. I don’t know about you, but they make me eat more. Oh, okay once a month, as a treat. But don’t go for seconds on the drink just because they come with the meals. Just get a glass and sip, don’t gulp.

Try not to skip meals too. Those who eat one or two big meals a day tend to lose less than those who eat more frequently but small meals even when the same amount of calories is consumed. So let’s try having three small meals and two snacks a day for this spells more success. Don’t ask me why because I don’t understand it myself. It’s just one of those things in life we have to accept as a gospel truth.

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Preparing For Success

Many factors affect our eating habits. There are many reasons why we eat. Hunger is not the only motive for eating. Just the smell of something frying in the kitchen makes our mouth water. And it is enough to trigger an eating frenzy.

It is therefore vital that we recognize what makes us eat. What are the signals in our environment that spur us to eat? It is only after we have recognized both the physical and emotional environment cues will we be able to manage to the point of success.

Let us first take a look at our environment. Let us look around and what do we see? Food here, there, and everywhere. It is readily available, isn't it? No wonder we eat so much. To top it all, we were brought up not to waste food. We have to eat everything in our plate, no matter how uncomfortably full we are.

To be successful, we have to look around at home, in the office, everywhere. Find out when and how much food we have at these places including our car. When are all these foods available to us? Who buys them? Who makes them available?

After we have surveyed our environment, it is time for some clean-up if we are really committed to lose weight. What kinds of food do we buy? Are they healthy foods? What can we do to clean up this environment so we can succeed in our effort to lose weight?

Let us remove all foods that are not healthy for us. Cook only enough portions. Whatever extras we have, put them away for another meal. This will not be easy at first but once you get going, you'll feel better and healthier too.

Just think of what happened to our eating habits in our communities. It used to be that a serving of juice is just four ounces and a serving of cereal is just a cup. Now the juice has become eight to twelve ounces and our bowl of cereals has at least two cups. And we wonder why we gain weight.

Have you been to the movies lately? Have you seen the choices of popcorn and drinks we have? Of course we buy the large option because the refills are free. And let's not talk about soft drinks. From the 1955 choice of 7 oz, now the top choice is 42 oz. And we have to get this because it's a bargain, right? Wrong!

So you see, we really have to work hard to turn the tide around. Sure, we've come a long way and have gotten good deals, super-sized wise. But how about our body? We do not want to super-size that as well. Hopefully, this will set the stage to our changing our environment to ensure success.

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Are We Ready to Lose Weight?

Here are ten questions to ponder on and answer to make sure:

• Are we willing to take an objective look at ourselves and our attitudes toward food and exercise?


• Will we be willing to weigh ourselves at least once a week?


• Are we going to commit the time needed to lose weight like preparing to eat healthy meals and exercising?


• Are we willing to give up our quest for the next diet for a quick-lose plan?


• Will we be able to accept losing one or two pounds a week?


• Will we be able to accept that some weeks we will not lose weight?


• Do we possess a good attitude toward the effort we will have to exert and have reasonable expectations?

The aforementioned questions are the things we have to make sure we can honestly answer affirmatively to be ready to embark on this journey to good health. Losing weight may be important but is it important enough for all the energy and effort to achieve our goal?

It is not realistic to want to lose weight if we do not know the changes that are required. Other people eat because they enjoy it. But some people use it as an escape from something unpleasant in their lives. Food sometimes have a calming effect on people. We have to ponder all of these issues so they will not stand in our way.

Let's give ourselves a readiness test to see if we are prepared to do what it takes. How important is this losing weight? Are we confident we could lose weight? Will we be willing to reduce the food portions we eat now, and more importantly, will we be confident we can do this?

Regarding exercise which is an integral part of losing weight, how important is it to us to increase our physical activity? Are we confident we can do this? Are we going to make excuses and rationalizations if we cannot exercise on some days?

Once we have these issues out of the way, we will be better prepared to start the regiment of losing weight by eating less and moving more. Just think of what we are trying to avoid. Diabetes and its complications. This should be enough motivation to spur us on.

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Preparing for Lifestyle Change and Success

Why do we eat? Do we eat to live or do we live to eat? There's quite a difference for there are factors that influence our eating. Eating only when one is hungry and stopping when full will be an excellent habit to adopt. Then there will be fewer overweight people.

Let us ask ourselves. What makes us want to eat? Is there an emotional reason behind our eating? Let's identify all these reasons and try to manage them. Then we will be able to manage our environment so we can be successful in our endeavor to lose weight.

We overeat because food is readily available. Look around and you will see food everywhere. Then the sight and smell of these foods make our mouth water and we will want to eat them whether we are hungry or not. On top of this, we have been programmed to clean up our plate and not waste food.

What kinds of food do we buy and keep around the house? Will they make us healthy and lose weight? Or will the foods we keep handy just tempt us to eat? So the first thing we should do is clean up our pantry shelves and the cupboards where we keep these foods:

• Find out what healthy foods to keep and get rid of the ones that will make us gain weight and unhealthy.
  


• Find out enough portions to cook for us and our family and stick to it. If we find you have some extra, let's put them in the freezer to save for another meal.
  


• Wrap portions of snacks enough for each time so we will not overeat. I don't know about you but when I opened (not now, anymore, honest!) a bag of chips, I couldn't stop eating until I finished it all.

This is not easy to do, but we have to control what we buy and serve to make sure we eat only enough. After we have managed this part of our eating habit, the next challenge for us is what to do when we eat out. There will be strategies to keep in mind in this case and I will blog about it next time.

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