Not all low-fat, low-calorie diet books are the same.
Personally I’m not a fan of using substitutes such as splenda, so I stay away from the sugar free cookbooks. However if you are a fan by all means try them.
If you know how the Weight Watchers points system works, their books are have a lot of great recipes and tell you the amount they’re worth. For a girl like me I get about 16-20 points a day of food. My rule of thumb is 80 calories a point. It’s more complicated than that, but it gives you an idea.
Buy cookbooks that list the nutritional value of the recipe per serving. This lets you know how fattening or healthy a recipe is. A lasagna recipe might be low in calories but the serving size might be too small to fill you up. Ask yourself if you will be full after the serving size listed, if not calculate how much it will take you to get full.
If it will take you too many servings to get full, then the low-calorie recipe is no good because all it does it shrink the serving size. Look at how many calories you’ve allocated to that meal. Compare this number to how many calories it will take to you make you full for this recipe. If its within the range, then this is the recipe for you.
April 10th, 2006
Women’s Health magazine has a great article on how to figure your daily caloric consumption. It makes some assumptions, but it gives you a good idea of what your ideal weight should be. It also provides a formula to allow you to enter any weight and teaches you how to maintain that weight.
Try it. It is really helpful to give you an idea of how much you need to exercise and how much exercise really affects your diet. For Step A try it with your ideal weight and try it with your current weight. You will need to revisit the calculator as your weight changes.
Women’s Health Article on your perfect weight and how to calculate your caloric intake.
April 6th, 2006
Many of my friends ask me how do you know what is healthy or how to know when to stop eating. The answer is dependent on your height and weight; activity level; metabolism; and sleep patterns.First you have to know how much you currently eat to know if you’re eating less or more. It keeps you honest and accountable. Write everything down even if you feel bad about how much you eat or how unhealthy you eat. Many people realize after keeping a journal for a week that includes the time, quantity, and item they’re eating that they might not be eating a lot. However what they are eating is extremely high in saturated fats and very low in nutrients. This isn’t good for your body even if you are skinny and have a low body fat percentage. Your body needs vitamins and minerals to stay healthy, so eat healthy even if you’re already at your ideal weight.
Task: Start a daily journal writing down all the food you consume, how much of it you eat, and the time you of day you are eating it. Also note water intake.
Goal: Learning to be honest about what you eat and setting the foundation for later.
April 5th, 2006
