Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Let's Start At The Very Beginning....

 As I type I can hear Julie Andrew's voice starting the famous song from the Sound of Music.  "Let's start at the very beginning.  It's a very good place to start."  Oh my, how very true those words are when it comes to healthy eating and weight loss as well!  If you haven't been living a particularly healthy lifestyle and want to make some changes to get on track it can be a very daunting and scary task.  So let's look at a couple small changes that will make a big difference in the long run.

Step One
Figure out what you are currently eating.  Are you eating junk?  Are you eating fruits and vegetables?  Are you eating items loaded with sugar?  High in calorie content?  High in fat?  Take a look at the labels and find out what you are putting in your body.  You won't know if you don't look.

Know what a
serving size looks like.
Read the labels!
Step Two
Look at the PORTION size for those items.  To keep it simple, if it's fresh fruits or vegetables use a piece (ie: a banana, an apple, a potato) as a single portion or use 1 cup for leafy items and a 1/2 cup for the others as good guideline.  If it's a packaged food it will say on the label what the portion size is and you'll be quite surprised to find out what a single serving of cereal or chips actually looks like when it's measured out.  Some items will pleasantly surprise you and others will NOT bring a smile to your face.  Trust me on this.

Step Three
Keep track and write it all down.  All. Of. It.  Every bite, lick and taste.   The only way to really do that is to write it down or track it using an online tool.  (There are a couple online trackers I've used and was pleased with both for different reasons.  One is Weight Watcher's online tracker (which has a fee involved) and the other is a free product from Livestrong.)  Weight Watchers tracks using the Points Plus Values and Livestrong tracks calories.  Both are good tools for our current purpose.

Knowledge is power and right now our goal is to get educated on WHAT and HOW MUCH we are eating.  Being aware, learning portions and journaling is a great place to start.

Do, rey, mi.  The first three notes just happen to be....


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