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Do you really believe you could eat MORE and still lose weight? It's true, all it takes is a bit of 'juggling' of your thoughts and ideas about food. Society today is Super-Sized! We sit down to meals that are HUGE, and that is what we expect will fill us up. So when we go on a diet and we end up with these tiny portions instead of the meals we are used to - it's hard to adjust. With a bit of structured thinking, YOU can make things different and make it easier to lose weight!

Just to give you an idea of how this works, this is what someone who was consuming 2,400 calories per day would eat...

Breakfast - 4 ounces orange juice, 1/2 cup low fat granola cereal, 1 cup 2% reduced fat milk

Lunch - 1 cup tomato bisque, 2 slices white bread, 2 slices bologna, a slice of cheese, a tablespoon of mayonnaise, and 1/4 cup raisins

Dinner - 1 glass of wine, 1 cup spaghetti with 1/3 cup meat sauce, 2 cups spinach salad dressed with 2 tablespoons Italian dressing and a small portion of apple crisp

Snack - can of Coke and 1 ounce of pretzels

Now, with just a few SMALL changes you can cut 1,000 calories from your diet and STILL feel full and satisfied. You won't feel ravenous because you won't be starving!

Breakfast - 1 orange, 1 1/2 cups bran flakes, 1 cup fat free milk, 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Lunch - 1 cup vegetable soup, 2 slices whole wheat bread, 2 ounces shaved smoked turkey, 1 ounce reduced fat cheese, 2 teaspoons mustard, 2 lettuce leaves, 2 tomato slices, 2 green pepper rings, 1 cup grapes

Dinner - 1 cup chilled cooked green beans marinated in 3 tablespoons fat free Italian dressing, 1 cup cooked pasta, 1/3 cup spaghetti sauce with 2 ounces cooked shrimp and 1/2 cup cooked broccoli, 2 cups spinach salad with sliced mushrooms, 2 teaspoons fat free Parmesan cheese and balsamic vinegar as dressing, and a baked apple sprinkled with 2 teaspoons brown sugar (optional)

Snack - 1 cup fat free milk, 10 large strawberries

Now look at that - there is MORE food in the menu that was lower in calories then in the menu that had MORE calories and the neat thing is that you are going to LOSE WEIGHT!!!

How do you do it? With a few simple changes... Juice is on the whole wasted calories - if you EAT the actual fruit instead of drinking juice you are going to FEEL fuller. The same goes for the wine - it's not going to 'fill you up' but it's going to add a bunch of calories that you don't really gain anything (but weight) from! Granola is dense and high in calories - replace that with an 'airy' cereal and it looks like you are getting lots more to eat! Replacing 2% milk with fat free will save you scads of calories and most skim milk has more protein then regular 'fat' milk. Soup is always a good choice for filling you up, but cream soups have a ton of calories in them, stick to clear broth based soups and save calories there. Foods that are high in protein are more filling - so going with turkey for lunch instead of the fat laden bologna makes that sandwich more filling, more satisfying and a better choice! Just by skinning the fat calories from things like the milk, the cheese, the salad dressing, the bologna, and the wine, you can save yourself a horde of 'weight'! ;-)

One thing I didn't realize is that the fat free pretzels that I was happily munching aren't necessarily the best snack because they don't really make you feel full! In fact, recent study states that you would feel fuller eating FRENCH FRIES! (Oh I wish that meant open season on french fries! *lol*) The trick here is to go for high fiber, filling things instead of the not so filling pretzels. Strawberries, cantaloupe, apples - those kinds of snacks are much better for filling you up and making you feel satisfied.

One last note, as your food moves through your body it sends messages to your brain, a larger volume of food is going to stimulate more of those signals that tells you that you are no longer hungry. So think healthy when you are making food choices...

If this type of eating interests you - check your local library for a book by Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., and Robert A. Barnett, called Volumetrics: Feel Full On Fewer Calories

0-SlimPickins member Beth came to some startling insights yesterday that I would like to share with you...

Well, I was pondering something that happened today and came to a conclusion. I'll run it by you all and tell me what you think about it. This afternoon, I had some pretzels, I counted out a serving and was going to sit at my desk eating them. Well, for some reason, the phone rang, I started doing other things and in the meantime, I inhaled the pretzels. I barely realized I ate them. In fact, a while later I said to myself, did I eat those pretzels? I can't remember eating the pretzels. Because I didn't remember eating them, I felt like I didn't eat them and maybe I was hungry and should eat something. Hmmm. I wasn't hungry, I did eat the pretzels earlier. I had to remind myself of that. But, if I wasn't thinking about this, like it the past, I probably have eaten more even though I didn't need it.

So, somewhere in this rambling, my point is, if we just eat subconsciously, we may not be aware that we're eating and not realize we're not hungry anymore. I was thinking, Hey! I didn't eat! I better do that. When all along I did eat and didn't need to eat again. I guess that's a big part of eating like a thin person, being conscious of when you're hungry and paying attention to what you're eating. If we don't pay attention to these things, we overeat.

Does any of that make sense?

Are you drinking enough?

The one thing that almost EVERY diet book, program, or plan has in common is this one healthy thing - DRINK LOTS OF WATER! No matter how unhealthy the plan is, somewhere in that literature you will find the recommendation that you drink 8 glasses or MORE of that pure, clear, liquid - WATER. Why? What does it do for you? Because your body depends on water to carry out all it's essential functions, if you aren't drinking enough, your body has to use the water it does have to carry out those functions instead of using it to flush out fat. Yes, I said flush out fat! If your body is taking all the water it can get just to flush out your kidneys then how is it going to do the routine maintenance that it needs to do and flush that excess fat away? It's not going to, it's going to do what it HAS to do and not what it could do. The American Dietetic Association states that in order to access stored fat, you need to have water available. I'm not saying that you will lose weight if you drink gallons of water, what I AM saying is that if you are trying to lose weight then you should make sure that you are drinking plenty of water so that your body CAN metabolize that fat!

What counts in your daily water consumption? Well, beverages like milk and juice count - but be aware they don't come without a cost - they have plenty of calories in them... Beverages like coffee, tea and soft drinks DON'T count because they stimulate the kidneys to increase urination, which in effect dehydrates you...

Ten Reasons To Get Out And Walk

1. You'll live longer (You could reduce your risk of premature death by 50%!)

2. You'll burn more calories (Of 6 indoor exercise machines - the treadmill burns the MOST calories.)

3. You'll give your back a break (Walking is the best thing for painful lower back problems.)

4. You'll build strong bones and slim your middle (Besides strengthening your bones, that 'beer belly' will trim up!)

5. You'll feel less pain (Researchers say that pain is more bearable after you exercise!)

6. You'll cut down on pesky PMS (By raising the level of endorphins and increasing circulation you can ease PMS!)

7. You'll sleep better (Walkers slept almost an hour longer per night and fell asleep faster then non-walkers in studies!)

8. You'll glow (Enhanced health increases circulation and transportation of nutrients all which benefit the skin!)

9. You'll stay thin as you get older (Metabolism slows with age - but you can switch it ON again when you get moving!)

10. You can stick with it for life (Hey, you may not be skateboarding at 50 - but you can sure heck walk!)

They say that the last 10 pounds is the hardest to lose, but think about this...

If you cut out 100 calories from your daily diet - even if you decide to do some exercise that expends those 100 calories each day - at the end of a year you will have lost AT LEAST 10 pounds!

Okay, a year is a long time, but what else are you doing? Got something planned that's going to keep you from losing that 10 pounds? Why NOT go for it!!! 100 calories - YOU CAN DO THAT!!!!

This week I decided to do a 'Road Test' on something I used to know a lot about! Walking! I say used to because for a few months I have not been walking - and believe me, I can tell it... It's been harder to lose weight, and harder to keep it off - so I took my own advice and STARTED MOVING!

Walking is great because it's something you don't need any special equipment for - almost anyone can do it, and it's something you can do any time!

The great thing about waking is that anyone can start at any time... You don't have to be up to walking 2 miles right off the bat, you can walk as little as half a block and still reap the benefits of added movement in your body. Let's face it - everyone has to start some where, and we aren't all athletes, especially if it's been years since we've gotten off the couch. Walking is something you can work your way up with - you start out with what you can do, and when that comes easy you move it up a little bit more. You don't have to over do, you don't have to push and kill yourself to do it - it's easy on your body and it is one of the only exercise that with one move you are working your WHOLE body! It's convenient... You can walk anywhere you are - it's something you can do while you are on vacation, something you can do in a moments notice (just get your shoes on) and it's something that can get you out of doing the dishes... Just think - instead of eating seconds at dinner - get up and take a walk, if you are gone long enough, when you get back they will already be done cleaning up! ;-)

The benefits of walking are so great, especially for beginners because untrained bodies respond quickest to weight loss programs - so if you haven't been doing anything lately and you suddenly start walking you are going to see huge results! A few months ago I spent a week eating under 1500 calories and lost about 5 pounds - but I wasn't walking... This past week, I was eating under 1500 calories again - but I walked almost every single night. The result? I lost _8_ pounds! It DOES make a difference - a BIG difference!

The rules to remember when walking - from beginner to expert...

Warm up by maintaining a brisk yet comfortable pace for 5 minutes before you speed it up to your normal walking pace. Or you could do some warming stretching exercises before you start. A cool down period of slowed walking is also recommended when you are through with your walk.

You should be perspiring but still able to carry on an everyday conversation. If your speech becomes very labored, slow your pace a bit.

When you have been walking for a while (around 6 weeks) and feel comfortable adding this - every so often during your walk, speed your pace up so that conversation becomes breathy, but is still possible. Do this for about a minute 4 to 8 times during your walk - this will blast that fat away! When you become a walking pro you can add as many as 15 fat blasting intervals to your walking routine.

Form is important too...

Straighten that spine so that body parts are all 'stacked' atop of each other.

Relax your shoulders.

Pull in those abdominal muscles.

Keep your chin parallel to the ground.

Keep your elbows close to your sides and bent at a 85 to 90 degree angle.

Swing your arms opposite to the motion of your feet - left leg goes out, your right arm should be swinging to the front and the left arm swinging to the back.

Keep your fists relaxed (pretend you've got an egg in your hand.) Never let your hands rise higher then your chest level.

Begin each step on your heel with your toes pointing upward.

Roll through the foot and push off from the toes into your next step. Remember that old "heel, ball, toe" thing? Well that's what you should be thinking as you trod on! ;-)

So what do I think of walking? Personally I give walking a 5 pound rating - everyone should be doing it - even if you are pumping iron, doing an aerobic cardiovascular routine, no matter what you may be doing I really feel that adding in a walking workout at least 3 times a week is going to show you some great results. From beginner to expert, walking is an easy and economical way to get your health and your body in even BETTER SHAPE!

This is what 0-SlimPickin's list member Ayala had to say about walking!

 Hello everyone! I hope that you all are doing well. I am proud to tell you all that I have learned three very important things over the last couple of weeks. The first important thing I learned is when my sister and I took the kids to see Disney's "Dinosaur",(which by the way was outstanding!) is that one can make themselves awfully sick eating too much candy. Now, I know that the Richard Simmons food mover doesn't allow candy in mass quantities, but what is a movie without a sugar high and a cholesterol overload from greasy popcorn? I learned my lesson, and after I tell you all that I had it's no wonder I was sick! We decided to stop for lunch with my mother and another friend downtown. We went to a great little Mexican food place that has the best beans and rice in town! So it started that I had a chili relleno burrito and a few chips with con queso(I went easy on the chips to try and save calories, besides I already used all my fat windows and protein from one burrito! (....sigh). I was full and thought that I would be good at the movie theatre. After leaving lunch and heading for the movie theatre we stopped at Walgreen's to buy candy for the kids, I don't know what happened but when I saw all the candy varieties they had in stock I went wild. All I can tell you is that I had some bite size Charleston chews, a package of Twizzlers, Peanut butter M&M's, a side of strawberry Nerds and some red gummy fish, and a handful or two of popcorn. Needless to say that by the time the movie was over I was green- literally. What I learned is that until you make a conscience effort to be aware of everything you put in your mouth you have no idea how much you eat in a day, or as in my case in a total of 4 hours time. I decided that I would keep a diary of everything I put in my mouth from now on. It is really amazing all the crud I stuff my body with, and after a few days of keeping a food diary I realized why I wasn't losing weight steadily.

Do I believe that keeping a food diary is beneficial, yes. Until I wrote down exactly what I ate I had no idea how much I was eating and how badly.

The next important thing I learned is that stress can make you eat like a cow grazing in a field. Yes, that was me last week, paint me white with black spots and call me Mrs. Moo! As my son was sick with a virus and on top of that, allergic to the virus that was invading his immune system I went to grazing on anything and everything I could find. If it didn't move and smelled good I ate it. My downfall was that I didn't write a thing down that I put in my mouth. I can only tell you that when the Schwann's Food Home delivery man came buy I bought a four pack of Peanut butter Passion ice cream and had all of them devoured in less than an hour. When I realized what I was doing I stopped, grabbed my small notebook and a pen and wrote the days food I ate. It was disgusting, and it made me ashamed that I would be so cruel to my body. So I have made the effort to cut down on fat and out on sugar. I drink a gallon of water every day, though that may seem like a lot of water it works well for me. I am not as hungry, I think that I was confusing thirst with hunger. So now I try to eat when my stomach growls, and if it is at 3:00 in the afternoon that I have lunch, well, then that is when I will eat. So far, so good.

Onward to the next thing I learned. For my oldest sons kindergarten graduation I had nothing to wear, except for a dress in the back of my closet. My mother had given it to me and I had tried it on months ago, it did not fit. In fact the sleeves were so tight I could not pull the dress over my shoulders. In a desperate attempt I thought, well maybe I have lost a little weight that it will fit, even if it is tight. I tried the dress on, and it fit!!! A size 18! In December I was wearing a size 26 woman. I wont lie to you, I do take nutritional supplements that have a abundant amount of minerals and vitamins, plus essential fatty acids that your body needs. I never realized what a important role proper nutrients play in metabolism and proper body functions. Which brings me to my third important thing I learned, even though I had days when I grazed like a cow, it doesn't mean that I failed. It didn't sabotage my attempt to make healthy lifestyle changes, in fact it made me realize what I needed to change to be around and healthy for my family. Just because you may go off and binge, it isn't you failing. It is you learning how to take care of your body. For those of us who go off the deep end and binge we are aware of what we are doing, and that is the first step. It is taking the next step by asking ourselves if we really want to eat that food which is bad for us, and if we do to control ourselves when we do. If it is one thing that I can say really works, it is using a food diary and learning how to listen to my body. I am no diet guru, I may never be a size 8, but I am determined to be healthy and to be able to like who I see, inside and out when I look in the mirror.

My sister provides recipes that I love, and although I don't cook often she has taught me how to replace the fat in foods with non fat, and that food can still be delicious! Kim, thank you for all the wonderful recipes and caring you give to us!

I will be reporting next weeks food journal- my crazy food hang ups and accomplishments, so follow me on my journey! Julie 

2 cups fat-free turkey breast, chopped cooked, boned and skinless

1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

1 teaspoon taco seasoning mix

2 cups lettuce leaves, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

1 package fat-free shredded cheddar cheese

2 ounces baked unsalted tortilla chips

1/2 cup salsa

1/4 cup chopped sweet onion

Fat-free ranch salad dressing

Chopped seeded jalapeno (optional)

In a large bowl, combine turkey, sour cream and taco seasoning mix until well blended. Place lettuce on a large serving platter. Spoon turkey mixture in center over lettuce. Place tomato on one side of turkey mixture; arrange chips all around the side of the dish. Sprinkle the top of the salad with the chopped onion and jalapeno pepper, then place the salsa in the center of it all. You can add an additional dollop of sour cream to the top of the sour cream. Sprinkle with the cheddar cheese. Serve.

Makes 4 servings

 DISCLAIMER: The opinions and statements in Slim Pickin's Weekly are not intended as medical advice. Its intent is solely for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes. If you are interested in pursuing or trying any of the dietary changes, or following up any of the advice in this newsletter then it is suggested that you contact a health professional before doing so..

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