kamaperry

** DOWNSIZING YOUR PLATE TO REDUCE WEIGHT

7 Tips on feeling satisfied when cutting calories

Clean your plate! It’s a mantra in America, and a contributor to the
ever-increasing obesity problem. A major part of the obesity problem
is portion sizes, which have grown substantially over the past four
decades: A Coke has increased from 6.5 to 20 fl oz. or more, a bagel
from 2-3 to 4-6 oz., and a chocolate bar from 1 to 1.5-8 oz.

Another part of the obesity problem is satiety; we often just don’t
feel full when we control our calories. According to researcher
Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., a nutritionist at Pennsylvania State University
and co-author of The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan, “Satiety is the
missing ingredient in weight management. Cut calories simply by eating
less and you’ll feel hungry and deprived.”

Here are some weight control strategies for controlling your portion
sizes while still eating enough to feel satisfied.

* Weight Control Tip 1 — Know Your Portion Sizes. There’s a
difference between serving size and portion size. A serving is a
standard amount of food containing a set amount of calories; a portion
is what you actually put on your plate. So a portion could be a lot
more than a single serving — and therefore contain a lot more
calories than you might expect.

* Weight Control Tip 2 — Check Food Labels Closely. You can’t assume
a package contains a single serving just because the label lists
calorie and nutrient information for one serving. Look for the number
of servings per package (it’s listed directly under the serving size)
to determine the true calorie count.

* Weight Control Tip 3 — Divide and Conquer. Research shows that the
bigger the plate, bag, or container of food, the bigger your eyes (and
it appears that the eyes have more control over how much you eat than
your stomach).

* Weight Control Tip 4 — Go High Fiber, High Water.  Eat foods that
have a high water and/or high fiber content and are low in fat. This
is the key concept behind Dr. Rolls’ Volumetrics approach. Soups,
salads, stews, casseroles, fruits, vegetables, low-fat milk, cooked
grains, and beans are all good choices.  These “wet” foods have a low
energy density — meaning the water and fiber they contain will fill
you up with a small amount of calories — as opposed to “dry” foods
like cookies, cereal, and crackers, which have a high energy density.

* Weight Control Tip 5 — Start Meals with Soup or Salad.  Dr. Rolls
has found that people tend to eat less when they precede a meal with a
low calorie soup or salad (with fat-free dressing).

* Weight Control Tip 6 — Eat a Variety of Foods.  Dr. Rolls’ research
reveals that even when you’re full from one type of food, say a salty
snack, you can still make room for another type of food, say a sweet
dessert. By eating a small amount of different-tasting foods, you can
create a sense of fullness without a lot of calories. 

* Weight Control Tip 7 — Emphasize What You Can Eat, Not What You
Can’t.  Positive thinking extends to weight management, too: After
all, diets often fail because we feel deprived. By focusing on what
you can eat, you’ll feel better about your weight loss program than if
you focus on all you’re missing. 

THE DANGERS OF TOO MUCH BODY FAT

** If you consume more calories than you expend, those extra calories
will be stored primarily as fat regardless of whether the extra
calories come from fats, carbohydrates, or proteins.  Johns Hopkins
experts explain the dangers of fat cell secretions.

It used to be thought that fat cells — known as adipocytes in medical
terminology — were just storage bins for excess calories. Today,
however, it is clear that adipocytes are very active cells that
produce and secrete a wide variety of substances that play a key role
in regulating body weight. But health problems can arise when these
cells begin to secrete too much or too little of these substances.

You are born with a set number of fat cells. If you eat more calories
than your body needs, your fat cells stretch to store these extra
calories as triglycerides. You may even gain new fat cells when the
cells have enlarged to their maximum size. Once created, however, fat
cells remain in your body forever; they may shrink in size when you
lose weight, but they never go away (unless they are removed by
surgery or liposuction).

Fat cells normally produce a variety of substances that influence your
body weight, how many calories you eat, and how those calories are
used as a source of energy. This is an active area of investigation,
and researchers have recently identified along list of these
substances — with unwieldy scientific names such as leptin,
interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor alpha, angiotensinogen,
adiponectin, and resistin.

When you have enlarged fat cells or too many fat cells, because you
are overweight, many of these substances are released into the
bloodstream at higher levels than normal. Over time, excessive amounts
of the substances begin to damage blood vessels and tissues and impair
blood flow, resulting in health problems such as diabetes, high blood
pressure, liver disease, cardiovascular disease, and certain types of
cancer.

Is there anything you can do to normalize the secretions from your fat
cells? Yes, and losing weight is your best option. Weight loss shrinks
fat cells back to their usual size, normalizes their secretions, and
can reverse or prevent many of the health conditions associated with
obesity.  Some experts predict that doctors may one day be able to
analyze your genetic make-up along with the products of your fat cells
to see which compounds you’re over- or under-secreting, and design an
individualized dietary plan to counter the adverse effects of abnormal
levels of specific secretions. For some, that plan may involve a
carbohydrate-rich diet; for others, a higher protein or healthy fat
regimen. Till then, the usual diet and exercise plan is the best route
to shedding pounds.
 

I found these “Apple Cinnamon Grove” Baked fruit crisps!!! They are very good, low fat and only 130 calories for one oz!!! They are made by Flat Earth, you should try them!!!

First I want to say thanks for all the supportive comments re my BF’s grandmother!It means so much. Yes, it is hard, but we are getting thru it. Ted is flying to Connecticut on Wednesday morning and will there for a week. I will miss him so much, but he has to do this, and his family paid for his ticket, which I thought was great, since we didn’t have the money. So, expect to see me here alot more while he is gone! I was so happy to fin I hdad finally broken my plateau!! I increased my workout, and cut my calories back to 1500 a day. Thanks to Wonder Woman and Tasha for their great advice! Well, I hope you all have a great day!!! Off to read blogs!

Yay!! I’m down 2 more pounds!!! Sorry to be missing in asction today, but we had some bad news: my bf’s paternal grandmother passed away, and he has been online getting the info to fly to the funeral, plus having to talk to relatives, and I just wanted to be there for him He is taking it so hard. But on the good side, I completed a 45 minute workout(intense level), and I’m wearing more clothes that I haven’t been able to in a while!!! I also, have decreased me daily calories by 100, and stayed within that, too!! Well gonna read some blogs before bed, I will be back tomorrow!!!

Ok, I don’t think I am eating at Taco Bell again I had a chicken burrito supreme and pintos n cheese(both of which I had figured the calories for), and they made me so sick last nite, I was up and down half the nite, still don’t feel too good today either. Didn’t get to do my workout this morning, hopefully will feel like walking at lunch.

Ok, on to the good stuff, I saw some friends last nite who I hasn’t seen for awhile, and they said they would not have recognized me, that I had lost so much wieght! Made me feel so good! Well, I hope you all have a great day, talk more later.

Don’t know if you all have access to a Trader Joe’s but I have found it is the best place to get low cost, healthy, tasty snacks. My new favorite is the baked blue corn tortilla chips, only 110 calories for an oz!! That is about 18 chips!

Ok, my honey made me breakfast in bed this morning! he was so sweet, made sure he didn’t butter my toast and only gave me one egg! He did give me corned beef hash and a big glass of ornage juice, though, but I figured it all up and although I had 715 calories for breakfast, I planned how I could get thru the rest of the day I did do my workout this morning too, so that helps. But he was being so sweet, I just couldn’t turn it away. Just have to be extra good today, and I know I can do it Well, I am wearing my size 14 pants today 

And they are not even tight!!! Yay!!! Well, I’m gonna get busy and work and read blogs, you all have a great day and stay op!!

Sitting here relaxing before I go to church. Just had a sugar free chocolate pudding, those things are life savers So I thought I would expound a bit from my vast store of wisdom, j/k Be careful of those “juice” drinks you find in the store. I bought a peach one this morning, because I love peach flavored anything, and downed the whole thing only to read afterwards that it was a whopping 260 calories for 16 ozs! Ouch!Oh well, and I usually read labels really good BEFORE I eat or drink, but I was half asleep(had just woke up and walked across the street to the convenience store), soooooo live and learn, AGAIN So, how is everyone’s weekend going? Mine is great so far, kinda quiet, but good. My bf is asleep on the couch watching Star Wars from behing closed eyelids, lol Too funny, movies always put him right to sleep. At least I get time on the computer that way! Going to do my Taebo work out tape tonite after church, don’t want to let down now. Well you all continue to have a great one, and I will talk at y’all later!!!