Vol. 4, No. 2
Feb. 20, 2007

How's that New Year's Plan Working for You?

Do you plan your meals or do you “wing it” with whatever’s on hand? Leftover pizza for breakfast? Vending machine chips for lunch?  Do you have exercise scheduled into your day or do you exercise when the “mood” strikes you? There’s a sure formula for No Results.

First, a word about meal planning. A recent study in the International Journal of Obesity found that people who consistently ate four to five meals a day were 150 percent more likely to maintain their weight than those who dieted strictly on some days and indulged on others.  Eating small meals throughout the day helps keep your blood sugar stable, making it less likely you’ll overeat due to ravenous hunger during long periods without food.

Here’s how to plan: Combine a healthy carbohydrate with a lean protein food for each meal, add a salad and/or vegetable to two of the meals and voila! You have a day’s worth of great eating. Once you get in the habit of planning this way, it will become second nature. Check out magazines like Cooking Light and Weight Watchers for creative ways to spice up meals.

Making time for exercise is just that. You won’t “find” the time unless you make the time. Having an exercise plan requires a time assessment. What times of the day are you least likely to be interrupted? Where do you have flexibility? Early mornings work well for many people, unless you’re not a morning person. Trying to schedule a workout after work can be unpredictable and leaves you wide open for excuses not to do it. Try getting up fifteen or twenty minutes earlier to exercise. It may take you a few weeks to adjust, but you will feel better for the rest of the day. Your body will thank you for it with more energy, firmer muscles and a smaller waistline.  

Avoid the Sumo Wrestler Physique: Eat Breakfast

Japanese sumo wrestlers have a trick for gaining weight: they skip breakfast so they'll be hungry enough at lunchtime to finish three to four huge servings. If you've ever seen a sumo wrestling match, you'd agree that this method seems highly effective. There are no skinny competitors.

Joking aside, research shows that breakfast eaters are less likely to be overweight than non-breakfast eaters. Eating breakfast makes it less likely that you'll overeat later in the day -- and more than make up for the calories you "saved" by skipping the meal.

Here are a few suggestions for healthy, quick and flavorful breakfasts:

• High-fiber cereal with a cup of fat-free milk

• Whole-grain English muffin with tomato slices and two pieces of melted low-fat cheese

• Five egg-white and vegetable omelet (onion, tomato and bell pepper) plus a whole-wheat English muffin

• One cup of low-fat cottage cheese with two tablespoons of crunchy cereal or ground flaxseeds

• Unsweetened oatmeal with 1/2 cup of low-fat milk plus two tablespoons of raisins or a cup of berries

To create your own healthy breakfasts, include a low-fat protein plus a healthy carbohydrate for a winning start to your day -- and your weight loss.   

Burn More Fat with Interval Training

Research proves that interval training gives you the most cardiovascular bang for your fat-burning buck. Try this sample program the next time you hop on that treadmill. The same principles may be applied to other equipment as well: adjust the tension to mimic the incline. It starts off fairly easy but quickly picks up speed, so adjust as necessary to suit your fitness level.

Interval Treadmill Training program

Warm up 5 min @ a 3.0% incline

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Thanks! LM