Diet Schmiet

Diet Schmiet

Who wants to go on a diet? No one? I agree! Diets have in them one fatal flaw—there comes a time you need to stop. That is when all the hard work can be undone. The way you eat, needs to be a way of life.

Places to Eat

When you are out and about and hungry do you know the places you will go to get food? When you are hungry is not the time to decide that eating French fries and a double/double cheese burger is not a good idea. Make your menus ahead of time. Know what places have the best options and which of those options you have decided are in your best interest. Almost every restaurant (even fast food) have options that are well-balanced and perhaps by eating only a portion are great choices. The thing is that you cannot guess. You really must go to the website and find out what the nutritional values are.

Eat Well-balanced Meals

Eating well-balanced meals all the time is the easiest way to lose weight and keep the weight off. This means eating approximately the same amount of grams of dietary fat, protein, and carbohydrates. Unfortunately, we do not know what nutrient values food has unless we look them up. We are told, this is bad, this is good, but we don’t really know the nutritional value unless we look them up. Take fruits and vegetables for example. They are considered, good for you. However, fruits and vegetables are primarily carbohydrates, so you must add dietary fat and protein to your fruits and vegetables in order for them to be well-balanced.

How Much to Eat?

That is the question isn’t it? You need to begin to learn to listen to your body and when it starts to feel satisfied. If you feel full, you ate too much. It is a little trial and error at first. Once you get the right feeling you should be able to go anywhere from 2-4 hours without food. If you feel you need to eat sooner than 2 hours then perhaps you did not include enough dietary fat. If you can go longer than 4 hours, perhaps you ate too much dietary fat. If you feel dizzy, you probably had too much in carbohydrates and not enough protein.

Write It Down

Writing down what you ate and when and how you feel is the best way to learn to listen to your body. So go to my website www.timerdiet.com/journal and print out the journals for FREE to track your progress. You will be glad you have the historical information to see how far you have come.

Congratulate yourself along the way. Avoid rewards (they may backfire), but be sure to say to yourself, “Way to go!” when you see some progress.

Sherri Sue Fisher, author of TimerDiet and TimerOrganizer

Eating Late at Night

Is Eating Late at Night a DO or a DON’T?

Sleep is Important

It is neither! If you are hungry and it is late at night then eat, if you aren’t then don’t. It is as simple as that. If your plans call for a late night dinner with friends or a date night out, then eat late. If instead everyone wants to eat early then do that. There is NO secret time to eat. The real secret time, is when you need to eat. Not just want to.

Don’t dietician say to not eat after 6pm, 7pm, or 4 hours before you go to sleep?

 

There are a lot of people who will tell you not to eat past a certain time, or not to eat too close to your bed time. But, what if your stomach is growling and/or your head is dizzy, then what? Do you just lie in bed hoping that these feelings will go away and you will become tired enough to ignore them? You will probably fall asleep faster if you eat something small that is well-balanced i.e. includes dietary fat, protein, and carbohydrates. Getting to sleep is important not just for weight loss, but so many other health factors. I see no good reason to lie in bed waiting and hoping that the feeling of hunger will dissipate.

When you are hungry your metabolism is slowing down

It doesn’t take a science degree to know that if you are hungry your body knows it needs to conserve energy and it does this by slowing down your metabolism. Your digestion of food increases your metabolism. You can research this and let me know if you have questions.

Don’t go overboard!!

 

This is not a go for it to the cookies and cakes. Nor is it a reason to overeat right before you go to bed even if you are eating the most well-balanced of meals. Something small and only enough to take the edge off of your hunger. If you have read my book TimerDiet or gone to my website and looked over my rules, you know I recommend cheddar cheese and crackers if you need something to eat late in the evening. This particular combination includes dietary fat, protein, and carbohydrates. If you have something else that you prefer, try it out and see if you notice any difference in your weight goals and if it helps you get right to sleep. But, most of all don’t feel you need to go to bed hungry because you want to lose weight.

Sherri Sue Fisher, author of TimerDiet

www.timerdiet.com

To be released this June TimerOrganizer

How to Eat When the Choices are Out of Your Control

Last Minute Plans to Go Out vs. Being in Control of the Dining Options

Especially when we are losing weight we want as much of our choices in dinning to be in our control as possible. But, this is not always the case. There are family gatherings, date nights, business lunch and dinner meetings, and so many other times when we don’t have a lot of say in our menus and/or the timing!

If You Know You Are Going Out vs. When You Don’t

 

Knowing ahead of time that there is a designated meal time is of great help when deciding how to plan the meals prior to and afterwards. If you are going to dinner at 7:00PM then be sure that you have taken into account whether you anticipate a wait time to be seated, whether there will be a business meeting prior to ordering, or possibly cocktails. I normally would have something like a small piece of cheese about one hour prior to the dining arrival time. This allows me to be sure that I am not famished when the food arrives or that I don’t eat the entire bread basket if that is all there is for the first half-hour. Sometimes the decision to go out is very last minute! You may be tempted to say no thanks, but don’t!! Your losing weight should not mean the end of your impromptu socialization. Just decide how much you really need to eat, keep it lean if you ate recently and embrace leftovers!

If You Don’t Know the Restaurant vs. When You Do

 

If we know the restaurant we probably have already scoped out the best options for us and have an idea what to order that will keep us on track. But, what if we have no idea where we are going until we get there? More than likely there is something that will work. Look for words like seared, broiled, and grilled, and avoid words like breaded, crusted, and fried. If you aren’t sure how something is prepared based on the description, ask the waiter and let them know you are interested in something with minimal sauces and preparation.

Appetizer vs. No Appetizer

 

It depends on how long it will be before you are going to have dinner and also what appetizer choices you have available to you. If your choices are fried mozzarella sticks or chili fries I would skip the appetizer and go straight for a salad to start you off. But, if you are going to be talking a bit before ordering dinner then my favorite appetizer is some sort of fish, beef, or chicken, with minimal preparedness.

Dessert vs. No Dessert

This is tricky in that if you are out to celebrate an anniversary or birthday of course you are going to want something. Perhaps sharing something is an option. Avoid the whip cream type desserts and stick with the more substantive like ice cream, dense chocolate cake, or crème brulee. But again, share with someone else and eat only what you feel comfortable eating.

Have Fun!! (There is no vs. no fun!!)

 

Above all, enjoy the time out whatever the occasion is. Your goal is to not overeat! Plain and simple if you avoid overeating that is more than half the battle. Embrace your leftovers and make a plan to eat them the next day. This will allow you to only eat what you truly feel comfortable eating in the moment.

 

Sherri Sue Fisher, author of TimerDiet

www.timerdiet.com

 

   

Get Off of the Bandwagon (Now it’s the Salt Bandwagon!)

Salt is OK—Now?!

So if you haven’t heard the research that came out this week, it is now OK to use the salt. Not only is it OK, according to the research not using the salt could be detrimental to your health. Is your head spinning? Well that could be because of the bandwagon effect. We hear that something is good, bad, harmful, super-food, or whatever the latest terminology is and we seek to believe it. We want to believe it. We want guidance, especially when it comes to our health and something we have some control over.

Research Can Be Conflicting

If you have been around long enough you have heard all of the conflicting research that says all of these foods are BAD and GOOD for you:

Butter, red wine, chocolate, coffee, eggs, grains, red-meat, turkey, salt, et al.

So what is the truth? That really depends upon you! If you have certain physical ailments that require you to avoid or to have any food then you need to work within those confines. But, if you don’t have any physical ailment, no specific risk, ask your doctor, but more than likely you don’t need to worry so much about avoiding foods that appear to be natural, have been around for decades, nor do you need to overindulge in foods that are considered super-foods.

Salt is OK again!

Aim for a Well-Balanced Diet

You want to aim for a well-balanced diet. Include everything that you can; include fruits and vegetables of all kinds not just the most popular. Include all meats red and white, and fish. Some grains are also important to include in your daily diet, eating the grains you like are fine. In other words, if you like white bread fine! Freshly made bread is the better option (from the bakery department—not necessarily homemade). If you like wine, a glass or two will not prevent you from losing weight or maintaining.

Make all decisions based on you not the bandwagon!

 Sherri Sue Fisher, author of TimerDiet

www.timerdiet.com

http://www.today.com/health/salty-problem-too-much-or-too-little-sodium-may-be-2D79473507 

 

Say NO to the Reward System

Give yourself gifts often

Say NO to the Reward System

Say NO to the reward system when losing weight! It is counterproductive and could sabotage your weight loss efforts. We have read or seen weight loss experts that promote rewarding yourself for your weight loss efforts such as the dangling carrot method as a way to lose weight. But, this dangling carrot could cause you to make decisions that you would not otherwise make and to your detriment!

Reward Is Not Really Worth It?

 

What if the reward that you decided you would get if you made your weekly goal is just not worth it. Maybe it was a massage and you really don’t have time for a massage anyway. So this becomes an anti-reward system. You are no longer motivated by the initial reward you said would motivate you, so now what is your motivation to not go for the second helping of chicken and dumplings? Nothing!

You Need the Reward No Matter What!

So you said if you made your goal you would buy a suit to wear when you go on that interview next week. The problem is that you need that new suit no matter what. It doesn’t matter if you meet your goal or not you still need to go on the job interview and you don’t have a suit that fits. So this becomes a tricky reward in that you may try hard to meet your reward but not all goals are achieved (at least not in the original time frame desired) so if you still give yourself the reward even though you didn’t meet your goal you are no longer going to believe yourself that the reward system is real, so now you have lost credibility with yourself.

 

You Can’t Reward Yourself the Way You Want

A lot of other people will use the reward system and they may buy themselves some extravagant “rewards”. This is fine if they want to, I don’t want to judge. But, what if you can’t afford to buy as expensive “rewards” as your friends? Then you will be sad, instead you should be ecstatic that you made your goal. Which is why I do not believe in rewards. Be happy that you made your goal! Write down “You did it!”, “Great job!”, “Way to go!” jump up and down, get a big smile!! But, don’t give yourself a reward.

Do Things You Like All the Time

 

You want to be sure that you are doing things and giving yourself things often and as needed. If you need some relaxation then go ahead and get a massage, if you need a suit for an interview be sure to get a suit (maybe from a discount store since you will be losing more weight), and if you want to do something fun—go do it!

Sherri Sue Fisher, author of TimerDiet

www.timerdiet.com

100 Days Until Memorial Day

Valentine’s Day is Over

With Valentine’s Day being over, the Olympics are wrapping up in a week, and summer is really just around the corner, how do you want to look on Memorial Day? We are not talking about looking like a Sports Illustrated model; that would be nice, but for most of us not probable—me included!! I personally would love to have a sunny glow; but I know unless it comes from a bottle that is not going to happen. I do know that my body is going to pretty much look like it did last summer and that is not a bad thing. Since I have maintained my weight for several years, my main dread of the summer is the beauty upkeep that comes with having to show off all that skin! Yikes!

You Have 100 Days from Today until Memorial Day

How do you want to start your summer this year? Do you want more muscle? Maybe, to be ready to take on some summer activities you have always thought about? Or maybe you would like to lose a few unwanted lbs? All of the above achievements are within your control!! I am not a proponent of fast weight loss—I prefer steady as you go—weight loss. So to say that you could lose 15 pounds is not an over estimation. It is very doable. However, you want to make sure that the way you lose weight is sustainable for the long-haul and incorporates daily activity that you can also maintain. Deciding you are going to start your weight loss by drinking green shakes every day and a high intensity work out for an hour a day is a recipe not only for disaster, it is a recipe for failure.

Define Your Goals and Make a Solid Plan

In TimerDiet, Chapter 4—Before You Start; the focus is on all of the things you need to address before you begin your weight loss journey. Waking up one morning and deciding today is the day I am going to drop 25 pounds normally does not work. You want to think about how much you really want to lose, what size you will be, what foods you should and should not have in your home, what types of foods you like, what foods go together to make tasty meals that you won’t feel like you are “dieting”, and so much more. If you look at the table of contents you will see that the chapter about what you need to do Before You Start is almost as long as the following chapter How to Do It!

I Don’t Mean to Tease You!

There really is so much that goes into what you need to do before you lose weight that there is no way to go through it in the blog and be sure I have covered everything successfully. However, I can tell you that when I began my journey 5 years ago today. I did everything I go through in two weeks and was ready to begin my weight loss journey on March 1, 2009. I lost 20 pounds by my birthday on June 23^rd 2009; and I have never looked back. The day after Valentine’s Day back in 2009, I said to myself enough is enough and I wanted a different me by summer and that is exactly what I did; I created a new me!

You can, too!!

Sherri Sue Fisher

www.timerdiet.com

 

Breakfast--Think Outside the Box

Think Outside the Box—Not Just the Cereal Box

When you think of breakfast you most likely think of cereal, I used to as well. Then I realized I felt so much better when I ate a more balanced breakfast that included dietary fat, protein, and carbohydrates. It wasn’t until much later that I actually looked at the labels of the cereal box (with a little more knowledge of what the label meant only to find out that the carbohydrate ratio was completely out of whack with the dietary fat and protein. In fact my favorite cereal had virtually no dietary fat and minimal protein, meaning that I was eating carbs for breakfast!

Carbs are Not Bad—BUT!!

Carbohydrates are not bad, but really they must be part of a well-balanced diet. They are not the diet. Somehow in our quest to eat “healthy” we have traded cereal for fruit. Which is what? Right! Carbohydrates. Do not forget the nutrients of the foods you are eating. They are made of either dietary fat, protein, and/or carbohydrates. There is no way around it. They are one of or some combination of these three nutrients. That simple knowledge will bode you well when you think about what to eat.

Eggs for Breakfast is Good—BUT!!

I want you to think even more outside the box!! Eggs for breakfast is an easy switch and I do have them about 75% of the time for breakfast. But, sometimes I just eat whatever for breakfast. Like left over fish, steak, chicken, enchiladas.  Really!! If I know I am not going to be around to eat my leftovers for lunch or dinner, and I am in the mood I will have grilled grouper with cilantro couscous from the night before. Or maby steak with potatoes au gratin. Or even a salad with leftover grilled chicken. Anything that is well-balanced makes a great choice for breakfast.  So if your mainstay is a bagel and cream cheese; add some salmon, and capers and now you have a well-balanced breakfast!!

Above all Enjoy Breakfast!

I hope these ideas help you in making better choices for breakfast. Not every day will be a bacon and eggs day, but do what you can to avoid the overdone carb breakfast!! Always remember to eat just until satisfied and not one bite more. You will feel so much better!!

 Sherri Sue Fisher, author of TimerDiet

www.timerdiet.com

 

 

 

 

Food Labels Needing an Update – Really?

Food Labels May Be Undergoing an Update-But Why?

The New Food Labels are possibly going to be revamped; or are they? The main proposed changes are:

·         Make the calories more prominent.

o   Aren’t they already prominent?! Do you really not notice the calories when you look at the label?

·         Distinguish between natural sugar and (I guess) non-natural sugars.

o   Isn’t this going to just be a reason to eat foods with sugars in them if they are able to label them as natural? Don’t we just need to stop eating sugars as much as possible? Besides the most natural sugars such as fruits and vegetables that are fresh don’t have a food label.

·         More realistic serving sizes.

o   Really? Do I even need to comment? OK, I will. This is no reason whatsoever to increase the serving sizes. NONE!!

Are We Reading the Food Labels We Have?

First of all, the food labels we have are fine we just don’t use them. A recent study conducted says that less than half of us use them. The assumption is that the reason people do not use them more is because they are confusing. I don’t think so. People normally don’t do something because they just don’t want to. Who wants to take the time to read a label for something you have already decided ahead of time that you are going to buy no matter what? It is not until we can educate in a manner that speaks to the heart of the problem and the heart of those buying how different choices do make a difference.

Diets Push Fresh Foods-So We Don’t Need to Read a Label?

The push to eat fruits and vegetables has really turned people off from “dieting” and rightly so. Not everyone wants to be a vegan. I know I don’t! When I wrote my first book TimerDiet, the main (if not only) criticism I received was that people could not understand how I could promote eating foods, like steak, bacon, cheese, and drinks like wine and champagne. I started out eating this way because I knew I felt better when I ate all three dietary fat, protein, and carbohydrates.

TimerDiet Thoughts on Labels

Of the three items that are proposed as changes the natural sugars vs. the non-natural sugars would be interesting. However, I am reading that this is the most problematic to the food companies.

This food label tells me all I need to know. The ratio of grams to grams (TimerDiet does not do ratios by calories) is completely out-of-whack. No more than double no less than half, is the motto of the ratio of dietary fat, protein, and carbohydrates. There is NO ROOM for Transfats in the TimerDiet. So this label tells me I certainly would not buy this. I do not care that it only has 200 calories, I actually do not even know what this label is for. I just know I would not eat it!

Maybe we should just learn how to read the labels we have…

Sherri Sue Fisher

www.timerdiet.com