Losing Weight and Feeling Great

Archive for June, 2008

It’s Summer and inevitably it comes up — you need to drop some pounds, and you only have a week or two as a deadline.  So how can you lose weight in a week (or two)?  It may be easier than you think!

First You Should…

Drink plenty of water!  I’ve written quite a few posts on drinking water to lose weight, so you might want to check them out.

In a nutshell:  by hydrating your body properly, it will let go of excess water in your system.  Sure, it’s "just" water weight, but it’s still weight that you don’t need.  Drink at least 64 ounces of water (not soda, not coffee, not juice, but water) a day — more if you have more than 40 pounds to drop.

What to Eat?

Forget the thought of eating a minuscule amount of food in order to lose weight in a week (or at all).  It doesn’t do anything for you except lower your metabolism!  Aim for at least 1,200 calories a day, in veggies, proteins, whole grains and fats (in that order).  You need a healthy diet in order to lose safely, and to keep it off.  Fruits…well, be caureful of them for the first week — they tend to have a lot of sugar.  Stick with ripe berries and apples (with the skins) at first.  And speaking of sugar…

…"White Out" the Sugar

Stay away from sugar and foods that act like sugar in your body.  This means highly refined wheat/rice and sugar products — sugar, white bread, white rice, regular pasta and yes — even bagels.  Too much sugar and sugar-like calories will send your blood sugar on a roller-coaster ride and will make it very hard to stick to a diet.  If you must eat something like pasta or a bagel, have a half portion and make sure you have plenty of protein with it, to help even out the sugar spike.

Move Around Some

You don’t need to start out with a big exercise routine, but even 15 minutes a day of moving around will help!  Turn on the radio or put in your favorite CD and dance around your living room.  Take the dog for an extra walk.  Do a walk at home program.  Try a balance ball routine.  You get the idea — just get up off the sofa!

Lose Weight in a Week — It’s Possible

Don’t forget to take your measurements at the start of the week.  Sometimes the scales show only a pound (or even nothing) but your measurements are changing for the better!  You look slimmer and trimmer.

Of course, you could also lose 5 pounds or more!  It all depends on your body and your circumstances.  Everyone loses differently.

You might want to check out my page on lose weight, eat more page for more information on why you should eat more, and not less, and still lose weight!

You see the commercials all the time for NutriSystem food, and you find yourself wondering about it.  Does NutriSystem work?  What’s the food like?  How much does it cost?

NutriSystem Food:  The Good and the Bad

OK, first things first:  how does the food taste?  Is it great or is it terrible?

Well, how about it’s a little of both.  Some of the foods seem to be universally loved, like the pizza, hamburger, tacos and such.  Others seem to have few fans, like the beef stew and blueberry muffins.

All in all, the food is good, although some are a little on the bland side (especially the dinners).  Why?  Because the foods are produced to meet the needs of as many people as possible, they are bland-ish.  But that doesn’t mean they can’t be dressed up some!

For example, I think the tacos are yummy with an added tablespoon of salsa and a little low-fat cheese.  The pizza gets two thumbs up with some turkey pepperoni on top.  The hamburger seems to be great no matter what you do to it!

And the desserts — I don’t think there’s one that I don’t like!

Try It Before You Buy It

Now I’m not going to lie — NutriSystem is a little on the expensive side (although if you already eat out a lot, it might actually be a savings).  Figure on about $300 a month.

There is an option of trying some food, however, before you sign up for the full program.  Kind of a "try it before you buy it".

Strange as it may sound, ebay has a lot of NutriSystem listings!  You can buy a few day’s worth of food to try out and see how you like them.

If you decide to go this route, stay away from listings that include the tuna casserole dinner, blueberry muffins or microwave chocolate cake.  The muffins and cake are actually pretty decent once you know how to prepare them, but the tuna…well, better not touch that one!  (Yes, I speak from experience.)

So, If so, check out the box below; click on an image to see the listing and bid amount.

The bariatric diet is what you eat after undergoing weight loss surgery.  If you are considering bariatric surgery, it’s not a bad idea to try the diet before you opt for the surgery.

After all, if you can’t follow the diet after the surgery, why bother with the expense and the recovery time from the operation?

Bariatric Diet:  What You Can Eat

Once you undergo surgery (adjustable lap band, gastric bypass) there are foods that you very likely won’t be able to eat anymore without suffering some rather rough side effects called "dumping" (which is like what it sounds).  The most common trigger is sugar, followed by fats.

It’s not to say that you’ll never again be able to eat ice cream or a piece of cake; just that your portions will have to be very small (a half-scoop of ice cream, a bite or two of cake).  And some people find that they can’t tolerate even such small amounts!

Immediately after surgery you’ll be eating meals of soft, bland foods at first.  This will be followed by less soft and less bland as time goes on.

Get ready to eat small, frequent meals.  How small?  Sometimes just a few bites at a time, every couple of hours.  You’ll have to see how your body reacts and adjust accordingly.

The Dietitian:  Your New Best Friend

You’ll need to schedule some visits with a dietitian, to help set up an eating plan that will help you to lose weight, get plenty of nutrition and not cause adverse reactions from your body.

Get ready to take supplements, as your food intake will be much smaller — you won’t be able to get every nutrient by your diet alone (which is probably true for the rest of us anyway).  But in the case of a bariatric diet, you have to be extra-careful.

In fact, if you are seriously considering weight loss surgery, it might be wise to contact a dietitian familiar with bariatrics and try the diet for a few weeks before you schedule a visit to the surgeon.  Worst comes to worst and you find that you can’t "stomach" a bariatric diet, you’ll have saved yourself a lot of pain (surgery isn’t pain-free) and expense.

Want more information?  You can view information and a video on gastric bypass surgery, as well as more information about bariatric diets from the University of Rochester.

So, what are your reasons to lose weight?  Is it because you want to look great for a special occasion?  Has your doctor had "the talk" with you about your health?  Is your blood pressure going up?  Are you embarrassed to be seen in public?  Is it something else?

Reasons to lose weight are a varied as people.  For some, the "hottie factor" is the biggest reason.  To look great in clothes again, to turn people’s heads, to feel great about yourself and your body.  I like to think of that BowFlex commercial soe time back, about the 50-year old grandmother posing (very successfully) in a bikini.

It’s Summer, so losing weight to look good in fewer clothes is another reason to lose weight.  Shorts, tank tops, bathing suits, light dresses all mark this season of the year.  It’s harder to hide the extra pounds in a pair of shorts than it is in a pair of sweatpants!

Your heath.  I know, I’ve had that talk with my doctor last year (or rather, he had that talk with me).  And you know, he was right.  I did seriously need to lose weight, and lots of it.  But that talk is kind of embarrassing.  It can be a motivation, though!  (So I say, 70 pounds lighter.)

Your health can also be for another reason — your family.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard women tell me that they want to make sure they are around for their children and grandchildren.

Whatever your reason for losing weight, keep it fresh in your mind each day.  Remind yourself of it, when temptation comes calling — because sooner or later, it will.

You can read more about the varied motivations to lose weight on the main website, as well as the benefits of losing weight.  Enjoy!