Ask a Dietitian

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#1 Have a positive Mindset.

• If you believe you can’t then you won’t.  Start out with the positive thought that you will succeed and you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve.
• Set realistic and achievable goals.  If goals are too big or if there are too many it can become a barrier for many people.  Start small and work up.
• Create action steps you can track and measure.  An action step might be to add one serving of vegetables to dinner.  Keep track of your dinners for a week and see if you managed to do it.
• Don’t rely on the scale as a measure of success.  Measure your action steps.  Over time you will notice change on the scale but daily fluctuations due to fluid retention and sweat losses can affect your motivation.  Check every couple weeks if you like or monitor your clothing.
• Change habits for life not just to lose the weight.  The habits you are changing are likely the ones that caused the weight gain so if you plan to go back to them you can also plan to regain your weight.
• Be accountable to yourself, there is no nutrition police.  If you want it you can do it.

#2 Take Stock.

• Write a food log and be honest.  Keep it for a week or 2 not a year. A food log can be a great way to check where you are at and to measure progress but if you keep it for too long it can become obsessive or just lose its’ benefit.
• Highlight the extras.  These would be the bacon on Sunday, the chips in the evening, the chocolate bar or scone mid-afternoon or the gravy on your potatoes.  Highlight them all and then tally them up.  In a few months do it again and see if you have reduced the number of extras.
• What do you notice about your habits and meal timing?  Do you skip meals, eat a late dinner?
• Bring your bad habits into awareness
• How often do you eat out?  Often eating out can lead to consuming double the calories you would normally have at home.
• What do you need to change?  Brainstorm a list.  You won’t work on them all, just choose one.
• What can you not give up?  Some things you can’t live without and you know it.  Accept that rather than fighting it.  Perhaps set some limits around them.  Being moderate rather than all or none will help you stick with your plan.

#3 Eat Breakfast.

• Stoke the fire.  Breakfast will help fuel your body and get you ready for the day.  People who eat breakfast make better food choices for the rest of their day.
• “front load your fuel”.  Eating food in the earlier part of the day provides you with fuel for the day.  Don’t starve yourself in the morning or you will end up overeating at the end of the day.
• Eating breakfast increases metabolism, preserves muscle and improves mood.
• Breaksfast is also a great meal opportunity for getting enough fibre and nutrients

#4 Eat Every 2-3 Hours

• By eating every 2-3 hours you can keep control of your appetite.
• Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full
• If you wait too long to eat you will get over hungry.  You will also start to use your muscle as fuel and lower your metabolism.

#5 Eat Your Vegetables

• Aim for 7-10 servings vegetables and fruit per day
• 1 serving = ½ cup cut up vegetables or fruit, 1 apple or orange, ½ banana, 1 cup salad
• Try to cover ½ your plate with vegetables at lunch and dinner
• Fruits and vegetables fill you up.  They are rich in fibre and nutrients and low in calories.
• Include one green and one orange vegetable daily
• Try more vegetable soups, salads, stir fry, raw veggies, roasted vegetables

#6 Watch the calorie density

• Fill up on fibre from whole grains, vegetables, fruit and beans.  Think eating foods with large volume per calorie ratio.
• Limit foods high in calories and fat (sauces, gravy, dressing, cheese, cream, salami, chicken skin, fried foods) Fat contains 9 kcal/g whereas proteins and carbohydrates contain only 4kcal/g. Alcohol contains 7kcal/g
• Create some realistic goals around cheese,  nuts, fat, oils and alcohol.
• Limit cheese to 3 times a week or choose low fat cheese (light feta, mozzarella, goat, ricotta, cottage, light cream cheese)
• Limit nuts and seeds (portion control = ¼ cup)
• Limit added fats to 3-6 servings per day
• 1 serving = 1 tsp oil, margarine, butter, 1/8 avocado, 1 Tbsp nuts or seeds, 1 Tbsp salad dressing, 2 Tbsp light dressing

#7 Portion Control Strategies

• Don’t approach every meal like it’s your last opportunity ever to eat.  You get to eat again in 3 hours.  We have endless access to an abundance of healthy food! You won’t starve.
• Rate your fullness on a scale of 1-10 where 1 is starving and 10 is over full. Try to stop at level  6. Satisfied, but not stuffed.
• Don’t treat your body like a garbage can.
• Use a small plate or bowl and take less food on your plate in the first place.  Often we just eat what is there but if there is less there we may eat less.
• Maximum of 2-3 cups of food, large portion of vegetables, 3-4 ounces of both starch and lean protein.
• Treat your body with respect. If you don’t look after it, no one else will!
• There is no benefit from eating to the point of being stuffed. Focus on how uncomfortable you will feel.
• Remember that overeating healthy food can still have a negative impact

#8 Eat Mindfully

• Only eat when you are hungry.  (physical vs. psychological)
• Recognize the roll stress, anger, fatigue or unhappiness play in your urge to eat.  Eating = temporary relief.
• When you eat, only eat (no TV, email)
• Eat slowly.  Prepare food on your fork after you swallow
• Don’t eat on your feet, sit down, use a plate
• Savour the flavour
• Practice the 80-20 rule and pleasure maximization principle

#9 Change the Behaviour

• Don’t overeat because it’s an occasion (X-Mas, B-Day)
• Avoid restaurants that serve large portions, buffets, all you can eat, items you can’t resist or low quality fried foods
• Don’t shop on an empty stomach
• Don’t reward yourself with food
• Don’t nibble while you cook or cut up veggies  first if you’re hungry
• Watch the free samples.  Just because it is free doesn’t mean you should try it
• Keep tempting foods out of the house initially.  One day you will learn to live with them.
• Recognize your triggers
• Get out of the “clean your plate club”
• Learn to get right back on track instead of thinking “I’ve blown it”
• Don’t think like you are on a diet.  This is your nutrition plan for life.

#10 Consistent Exercise Program

• Look at where you are at and set a realistic goal
• Include both cardio for calorie burning and strength for muscle growth
• Choose something you like, go for variety
• Put it into your schedule like an appointment
• If you miss one, make it up
• 5 times a week allows for consistency and commitment
• Change it up!  If you do the same thing you will get the same results
• If you can’t get in your whole workout one day, do what you can.  Better to do 20 minutes than nothing.  Commitment!
• Set a destination, train for it
• If your workouts get easy you are getting more fit so make them harder or you will see less results

How do you know if you are eating a healthy diet?

Think of this checklist for your meals:

• Are there at least 3 out of the 4 food groups in your meal?
• Are there at least 4 colours on your plate?
• Are at least 2 of the items fresh?
• Are your grains high fiber whole grain?
• Have you trimmed/cut the fat?
• Is the method of cooking either steamed, boiled, BBQ, roasted, sautéed, stir-fried, toasted, grilled, poached
• Is 1/2 your plate covered with Veg or Fruit?
• Do you stop eating when you are full?