Tips & Tricks for Newbie’s

Tips & Tricks for Newbie’s

This is probably stuff you’ve all read before but the following is a list of some of the things that helped me in my quest for weight loss & a healthier lifestyle.

1) Eat salad with EVERY meal (preferably before anything else or in between bites of everything else).

2) Try chewing gum or hard candy whenever you have a particularly strong craving for something you really don’t need to eat (i.e. chocolate, cake, fried ravioli, French fries or whatever the case may be) .

3) Give into cravings every now & again (otherwise you’ll go crazy!).

4) Invoke the basic Kindergarten rule of sharing (like with desserts & other rich foods that have enough calories to feed a small army).

5) If you know something is your weakness, DON’T KEEP IT AROUND! As painful as it might be in the beginning, take a garbage bag & empty your home of any & all foods that could cause you to stray. Going forward, simply don’t buy those things. If they’re not around, you can’t eat them.

6) Like someone who’s trying to quit smoking, you are essentially trying to ‘quit’ an ‘addiction’ to food…. so whenever you feel the need to run for the cookies & chips or find yourself with one hand on the cupboard door (and for whatever reason you still keep the stuff around), DIVERT (as quickly as possible) to the crisper drawer of the fridge. Of course this requires making sure you have an ample supply of healthy alternatives like baby carrots, celery, fresh string beans etc.

7) Eat fresh fruit for dessert instead of cake, cookies, pie etc. Or at least MORE fruit than anything else (Eat the fruit & then have a few bites of [insert decadence here] if you must).

8) Never go to a party or social gathering on an empty stomach.

9) Never go food shopping on an empty stomach & ALWAYS make a list & stick to it!

10) In place of tortilla chips, try celery with salsa. Yes I know it sounds strange but you’d be surprised just how satisfying it actually is (all you really want is the crunch when you get down to it). Besides, celery & salsa is virtually calorie (& guilt free)!

11) Be firm with family & friends when they try to push food on you – yes, even Grandma – I’m not saying you have to be a jerk about it & always say ‘no no no!’ but you have to put limitations on what you give into or you’ll just set yourself back.

12) Be conscious of choices at restaurants & do your best to pick the healthiest thing you can find – ask about substitutions for things like French fries & white rice etc. (You can always steal a bite or two of the sinful stuff from whomever is eating with you). ;-)

13) Remember that it’s ok NOT to clean your plate! PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR BODY!! If you feel full, wrap the remaining food up or throw it away (this is also ok to do…I know, I know, kids starving in [insert country], but there’s no way you could get the food to them before it spoiled so really, who would you be helping besides your fat cells?).

14) When you do feel full & decide to stop eating, get the remainder away from you as quickly as possible before you start to pick again. (ask the server to wrap it/take it ASAP…. mess it up with all kinds of condiments beyond edibility…. pour it in the garbage disposal …give it to the dog …. Give it to Mikey…. etc)

15) Do your best to view food as fuel for your body.

16) If you aren’t sure whether you’re hungry or not, try a cup of tea – cinnamon works best if you are also trying to dodge a craving.

17) S-L-O-W down!!! Pay attention to what you’re eating – TASTE your food as you chew thoroughly, swallow & repeat.

Melissa has the gift of producing weight loss for our clients. She has been there and conquered all the odds to transform herself. If you are having weight loss issues please reachout to Melissa. She just might be the ONE person in your life that can make a difference and give you back your life. She has been where you are - and she was able to rise from the depths to make her body what she always envisioned it to be.

Good luck!
Melissa COO/CPT
Executive Vice President
Group Exercise, Program Design and Customer Service