While reading Fit-Pro, I came across a neat and useful list of tools to help us maintain the weight loss that we’ve set in motion through AdvoCare.
1. Quality of intake - eat more veggies, fruits, whole grains, lean protein, low fat and no-fat dairy.
2. Low variety of calorically dense food - the calories per ounce, the less of the food you should consume.
4. Low variety of all food groups - its been proven that eating the same sort and kind of foods makes calorie counting easier. Yes, its true, even when we reach our goal weights we will still have to watch our calories.
5. Low television viewing - too often sedenatary veiwing is associated with mindless eating. Hey, my mother didn’t call it the idiot box for nothing.
6. Daily weighing - stay on top of the changes in your body and your weight so that you can catch them quickly.
7. Greater weight loss - We have found that the more you lose the more likely you are to keep it off. Look at Jared.
8. Physically active lifestyle - the more actively you live the more likely you are to maintain your weight loss. For someone like me who works behind a computer, this is a real challenge. I’ve “hired” my children to make sure I get out and walk or play or do a work out each day. Believe me, they are slave drivers.
9. Eating breakfast - You have to start your metabolism each day. For those of us who have reached a certain age, this gets harder and harder to do. I’ve found AdvoCare’s Thermoplus to be a very powerful tool in keeping my metabolism up. http://www.AdvoCare.com/05063233. But beware, increased metabolism can lead to increased food consumption unless you are on guard at all times.
10. Regular meal rhythm - Missing meals leads to overeating when we do eat. So maybe those meals on the run aren’t such a bad thing after all. I keep meal replacement bars and shakes in my desk at work just in case I don’t have time to eat or forget to bring my lunch.
11. Control of overeating - Pay attention to each bite, eat slowly, and eat without major distractions so that you know when you are full and stop eating accordingly.
12. Internal Motivation to lose weight - Remember why you chose to lose the weight, and that it was your decision not anyone else’s. Keep the faith, keep motivated.
13. Social support - Friends who stood by you when you said no to ice cream sundaes and refrained from drinking triple dutch latte supremes in front of you are still the one’s who support you in your weight loss maintenance.
14. Ability to handle stress - Stress leads to weight gain. Inability to handle stress leads to weight gain. So unless your life became stress free as a result of your weight loss, maintain those stress handling tools to keep your waistline in tact.
15. Low daily screen time - When you are in front of the screen you are probably not moving and very likely eating. This isn’t limited to the tv, include computer, video game, portable telephone, movie screens, etc. If you must imbibe in the electronic thrill factor, better put a sationary bike in front of that tv or keyboard.
16. Meeting public health recommendatins regarding physical activity - Current recommendations are five days a week of moderate activity or three days of vigorous activity and two days of weight training.
17. Monitored intake of food - Whether you count calories or servings or measure portion sizes or eat commercial prepared meals with certain calorie intakes, this is a sure fire way to maintain weight loss.
18. Monitored intake of fat - Fat gram for gram has more than twice as many calories as carbohydrates or proteins.
19. Physically active for more than one hour per day - What? More than my 10 Minute Trainer from Million Dollar Body or my 40 minute Callenetics work out? Perish the thought! Its true, though. Exercise that lasts longer than 60 minutes goes from shaping muscle to burning fat and after all which are we more concerned with? The key to doing this successfully is finding exercise that you really enjoy. Whether its walking, riding a bicycle, riding a horse, or working in the yard, find something that you look forward to doing.
20. Low calore intake - Here is where a healthy meal plan really comes into play. Consider how many calories is the right amount for your body and your level of exercise and plan accordingly. Just like when you were losing weight, too many calories equates to weight gain.
21. Consistent eating patterns across weekdays and weekends - Spread your calories out evenly throughout the week. If you are snacking on apples and carrots all week at your desk, don’t switch to candy bars and twinkies on the weekends. This is where I find AdvoCare’s snack bars to be a real help. They taste a lot like a Snickers bar, with more protein and less fat and calories.
22. Low levels of depression - Depression like stress leads to overeating and weight gain. Don’t let it sabotage your weight loss now. Granted, losing weight in itself isn’t anything to be depressed about. But perhaps the things that lead to your initial weight gain are still factors in your life that need to be addressed?
23. Medicla trigger for weight loss - If your weight loss was triggered by a medically significant occurrance, you are more likely to keep the weight off.
24. Eating similar amounts of dense foods - Avoid energy dense nutrient diluted foods, they lead to weight gain.
25. Smaller portions of high energy dense foods - Its okay to eat whatever you want, but you have to guard against overdoing the portion size. Don’t deprive yourself of what you wan to eat. But do so in moderation.
To your health and your successful weight loss!
