Portion control in an increasing world

This week, Susie, our Registered Dietitian, talked about dining out. When restaurants are continually increasing their portion size, it certainly makes it challenging for us to lose or maintain weight!

A great example Susie shared was the size of a sandwich 20 years ago compared to restaurant sandwiches today. Today’s version? Now more than 500 calories! Two easy ways to skirt the extra calories (and avoid overeating) – share with a friend or eat half now and take the rest home! You’ll find that you really won’t miss the extra food. And if you’re still hungry, munch on some fruit or veggies. You will feel better and look better for it!

I can’t believe this is the last week of class! This has been such a great group of Get Fit participants! I believe each person has improved their overall health and well-being as a result of the program. Most everyone has lost weight, inches or body fat since the start of class in June. And I know everyone is feeling better physically and emotionally; which is what regular exercise and healthy eating is all about! All of the participants should be proud of what they’ve accomplished and continue to include exercise in their daily routine.

Interested in joining our next Get Fit! session? Classes begin September 13 and 14. Spaces are filling so register today!

~Kim

Judge weight loss by your clothes, not your scale

Our education this week for Get Fit! focuses on body composition and what our bodies do when we are on an exercise/eating plan. The #1 goal for most of our participants is to lose weight. However, the scale can play mind games – especially when deciphering muscle weight from fat. So it's best to concentrate on how you’re feeling and what kind of gains you are experiencing in your life. And another good measure is how your clothes fit.

The most effective way to build lean muscle and reduce the size of your fat cells is to establish a healthy eating and exercise plan. And our Get Fit! participants have really embraced this lifestyle change. It’s exciting to see how exercise is making them feel good about themselves regardless of what the scale says.

I’m curious, how does exercise make you feel?

~Kim

Catching up and still making progress

Took a vacation - but not from exercising and mindful eating. As I shared my goal was not to gain weight on my vacation. I enjoyed fresh white fish and trout - one supplied an hour after catch from our neighbors! Got my once a year fix of wine bread - not to be missed from the Candy Shoppe in Bayfield. Also enjoyed wine in a glass! But this year I really increased my activity level at the same time. Several long bike rides and quite a few power walks.

So did I reach my goal of not gaining weight. I think so. What I learned is that one should not eat popcorn the night before a weigh in. So while the scale did not reflect the good news - how my clothes fit did. Thanks Kim for that reminder.

The Get Fit instructors and fellow classmates share so much information and good cheer. It reinforces my need for a healthy social atmosphere - that provides fun, a bit of competition and another level of accountability. Good to know what you need when designing a successful workout program.

I meet with Kim tonight to go over my goals and check in to see how I'm doing.

The challenges of goal setting

Coming up with Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely (SMART) goals is harder than you think. I'm trying to tie them to behavior changes that I want to achieve.

So here goes -

Drinking at least 6 glasses of water/day

Exercising 3 x week through Aug. 13

Averaging 8,000 steps a day by Aug. 13

Filling out an emotional eating sheet everytime I feel like going on a snack binge

Fitting in one bike ride per week

I have one more goal for this week - not gaining weight over vacation!

I am prepared. I stopped this morning at the Wellness Center to weigh in. My bike is going too - and I picked up extra audio books to make walks more entertaining. Susie Brueggeman, the Meriter dietitian and I talked about eating out strategies.

Off to Madeline Island!

I finally got all 10,000 steps in a day - and it was the Jimmy Buffett concert at Alpine Valley that did it. We parked in the Green Lot and had quite an aerobic work out to and from the theatre. I seriously wondered how some of the other fans made it! Just shows fitness doesn't have to be all drudgery.

Weight loss continues - slow and steady. This is confirming that my eating wasn't so out of wack - but lack of activity was catching up with me. I'm now wearing a pair of pants that didn't fit a month ago. Also bested my 1,000 meter rowing time earlier in the day. Shaved 14 seconds off my first try!

Tonight we're going to talk about goals. Scheduling regular exercise into my weekly routine has to be one of mine.

1 lb. = 3500 calories

Does this sound familiar? “I gained weight over the weekend because I ate a brat and a piece of cake.” We do not gain weight by eating a brat or dessert one time. But we do gain weight when we accumulate an extra 3500 calories (1 lb. = 3500 calories). A safe and effective way of losing weight is to cut back on 250 calories and burn an extra 250 calories per day. If you do this each day, you should lose 1 lb. per week.

Do you have to count calories and measure food? While counting calories can be effective it’s often not realistic. Simply reduce the amount of food you are eating and make sure you are exercising 30 minutes each day. One easy way to reduce the amount of food you are eating is to reduce the size of your dinner plate to a salad plate. This will help to keep the portions smaller and help you feel full when eating less. Studies have shown that people feel more satisfied with less food when they are served on 8-inch salad plates in place of 12-inch dinner plates. Another tip: place the vegetables on your plate first and enjoy a piece of fruit for dessert.

Previewing the week ahead: On Saturday our Get Fit! participants will discuss how to effectively set personal goals. It’s easy to state our goals but following through is another story. The program will teach each participant how to follow through and maintain their goals. They are already doing a great job attending class and most of the 15 participants are losing 1-2 lbs. per week. I am so proud of their motivation and enthusiasm.

~ Kim

Magic Formula? - Kim Weighs In

Is there a magic formula for weight loss? The media seems to think so. Usually if a product or plan sounds too good to be true, it probably is. We are so focused on losing weight and looking better we often forget about making lifelong healthy habits and give in to the easy fix. Most of us know we should exercise and eat right but for some reason we find ourselves eating a pint of ice cream or watching TV instead of going for a walk. What is the solution?

The magical formula is really finding what works for you and your lifestyle. If you have tried to form these healthy habits on your own and it’s not working, you may want to join a class or program that offers support or ask a friend or co-worker to be your exercise buddy.

We started our second week of Get Fit! and I heard a lot of laughter among the participants. They exercised for 80 minutes and everyone survived! The class was upbeat, fun and everyone worked hard. Just hearing laughter makes the environment comfortable for the participants.

Weighing In

One of the highlights (?!?) of the Saturday classes is weighing in.

I confess - I missed last Saturday's class. I somehow thought I could wedge this class into the day's agenda that included my daughter's high school graduation. Not! I do think I made up the exercise portion of the class with the sheer physical labor of setting up for the Sunday party.

So I faced the scale prior to Monday's class. The good news - I lost 1.6 pounds. It's this kind of feedback that movivates me for more.

It also led to an interesting discussion of how often to weigh in. One of the women who successfully lost weight with the last session weighs in every day. For her it's the best way to stay on track. She even confessed to taking a scale with her on vacation!

I'm curious - what works for you?