Have you ever been cooking a meal and found yourself snacking on
some chips or some thing else that is not particularly healthy? Or you
drink a couple sodas or alcoholic beverages while you prepare dinner?
For those of you concerned with developing a healthier lifestyle and losing weight, these are the types of scenarios that you want to eliminate from your routine.
When it comes to improving the choices and decisions
you make throughout the entire day, it is the small things that truly
allow an individual to be successful and lose the weight they so
desperately want to be rid of. When you focus on all the little things
and take care of those situations that can potentially add a bucketful
of calories into our system, you will have a better chance of reaching
your goal. Even though snacking while cooking may seem like a small
insignificant matter, it is a cumulative pitfall which is a habit you
should break.
To help combat these situations, it helps to have a plan on what you do whenever you are cooking or preparing a meal for you and your family. A good idea is to drink a large glass (20-30 ounces) of water before you start preparing anything. This will help curb your appetite until the meal is ready and hopefully take away the desire to put any type of snack into your mouth. Plus, since you should be drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day anyways, it's a win-win situation.
Another important thing to consider is not to have any "snacks" in arms reach. When that bag of potato chips is staring at you from the corner of your kitchen counter, you are more likely to open it up and grab a few handfuls of those calorie packed disasters. This is one of the worst things you can do especially if you are cooking a healthy meal like grilled chicken, steamed vegetables, with a salad.
You need to also watch out for beverages you might consume while in the kitchen preparing your meal. Unhealthy choices like soda and alcoholic will just put another 150-400+ calories in your body, and if you combine this with some chips, cookies, or crackers, you can see how quickly that calorie total can rise up close to 1,000. Even with a healthy meal, the benefits will be nullified if you've already put in 1,000 calories before you've eaten the main course.
That's how quick it can happen.
Now imagine if this scenario were to happen one or two times every day. Even if you are attempting to eat healthy meals that are appropriately portion sized, all the snacking and unhealthy drinks could prevent weight loss which may lead to frustration on your part.
Before you even realize what's going on, you can easily turn a healthy intention into weight gain which is why it is imperative you control these snacking scenarios. Try not to snack when cooking or doing any type of leisure activity such as watching television, reading a book, or using the computer. It is in these types of situations when snacking can really become really detrimental to our health and well being since our minds are preoccupied with a primary task, allowing our hand and mouth to go into automatic mode. Being in complete control of every single thing you put in your mouth throughout the entire day is what will really give you the edge when it comes to weight loss.
For those of you concerned with developing a healthier lifestyle and losing weight, these are the types of scenarios that you want to eliminate from your routine.
To help combat these situations, it helps to have a plan on what you do whenever you are cooking or preparing a meal for you and your family. A good idea is to drink a large glass (20-30 ounces) of water before you start preparing anything. This will help curb your appetite until the meal is ready and hopefully take away the desire to put any type of snack into your mouth. Plus, since you should be drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day anyways, it's a win-win situation.
Another important thing to consider is not to have any "snacks" in arms reach. When that bag of potato chips is staring at you from the corner of your kitchen counter, you are more likely to open it up and grab a few handfuls of those calorie packed disasters. This is one of the worst things you can do especially if you are cooking a healthy meal like grilled chicken, steamed vegetables, with a salad.
You need to also watch out for beverages you might consume while in the kitchen preparing your meal. Unhealthy choices like soda and alcoholic will just put another 150-400+ calories in your body, and if you combine this with some chips, cookies, or crackers, you can see how quickly that calorie total can rise up close to 1,000. Even with a healthy meal, the benefits will be nullified if you've already put in 1,000 calories before you've eaten the main course.
That's how quick it can happen.
Now imagine if this scenario were to happen one or two times every day. Even if you are attempting to eat healthy meals that are appropriately portion sized, all the snacking and unhealthy drinks could prevent weight loss which may lead to frustration on your part.
Before you even realize what's going on, you can easily turn a healthy intention into weight gain which is why it is imperative you control these snacking scenarios. Try not to snack when cooking or doing any type of leisure activity such as watching television, reading a book, or using the computer. It is in these types of situations when snacking can really become really detrimental to our health and well being since our minds are preoccupied with a primary task, allowing our hand and mouth to go into automatic mode. Being in complete control of every single thing you put in your mouth throughout the entire day is what will really give you the edge when it comes to weight loss.
Gregory L. Gomez, M. Ed, has been teaching 5th grade in the LAUSD
for 12 years and has now embarked on a journey to lose weight, eat
healthier, and finally get in shape! Follow his progress on http://HealthyChoicesInLife.com
as he strives to lose 60 pounds through dedicated exercise and healthy
eating. Get a FREE monthly Healthy Choices Newsletter along with an 18
page Weight Loss Guide at http://healthychoicesinlife.com/couch.
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http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gregory_L_Gomez
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