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MyFitnessPal To Lose Weight

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I recently participated in a 7-week Transformation Challenge at the gym I belong to.  We all tried to improve our strength and stamina over that period, with a baseline workout on Day One that was repeated on the last day.  But most people were also trying to lose weight.  My goal was to lose 10 pounds over the 7-week period.  And for one of those weeks, I was going to be on vacation. Yikes!

 

I didn’t quite reach my goal – I lost 7.5 pounds.  Looking back on it, I lost all of that in the first 4 weeks, then I plateaued.  And I think I know the reason why: I stopped keeping a journal of my calorie intake.  I had decided to enter all my food and exercise into the MyFitnessPal app on my phone.  At about 4 weeks, I decided I didn’t need to do that any more because I knew about how much to eat and what kinds of foods to eat.  Maybe so, but I wasn’t accountable for all of my calories, so my actions didn’t follow the plan.  I know this to be true because I didn’t lose weight for 3 weeks: if I had a calorie deficit, I would’ve still been losing. (My exercise remained the same throughout.)
MyFitnessPal not only helped me lose weight, but it taught me a few things.  I started reading labels more.  I discovered new protein-rich foods that are also low-calorie, such as Greek yogurt.  I learned on vacation that a dozen raw oysters on the half shell are only 114 calories and have 12 grams of protein.  You can bet I repeated that snack!  I also found out how to use the barcode reader on MyFitnessPal to enter a new food, which made using the app even easier.  I plan to lose a few more pounds in the next month, and I know I will do it with MyFitnessPal.  If you want to lose weight, give MyFitnessPal a try.  I think you’ll like it.

3 Ways to Work Weight Loss into Your Back-to-School Routine

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Don’t let the stress of your family’s back-to-school schedule keep you from achieving your weight loss goals. Here are three ways to help you make your health a priority this season.

  • When you pack healthy lunches and snacks for your kids, pack for yourself as well! It’s not much more work, and you may be more likely to eat nutritious meals and snacks if they’re what you’re feeding your child.
  • Walk or bike to school with your kids (if it’s an option). If you can’t, take them on a walk or ride as soon as you get home each day. You can use this time as an opportunity to talk about their day, try a geocaching app, take up birdwatching—anything that will help you and your kids stay motivated to keep moving.
  • If you’re a fall TV fan, make this simple promise to yourself: “I will not eat while watching television.” It is easy to overeat or make poor snack choices when you aren’t paying attention. Mindful eating leads to smarter and more satisfying meals.

Experience body-transforming results safely, quickly and affordably. Call Cordova Medical Clinic today at 901-888-1000 to see how we may be able to help with your weight loss success.

3 Ways to Work Weight Loss into Your Back-to-School Routine

 

Reorganize Your Kitchen for Healthier Eating

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A recent study from Cornell University has found that the food we leave out on our kitchen counters plays a significant role in determining our weight. So when you’re evaluating your weight loss goals, it’s always a good idea to reconsider how you organize your kitchen. Check out the below do’s and don’ts to help you optimize your kitchen for healthy eating.

Exposed Snack Foods

Don’t: Keep chips or cereals on your countertop, where you’ll be tempted to grab a handful every time you walk past.

Do: Replace binge-worthy foods with a bowl of fresh fruit or dried fruit, and pack in the vitamins whenever a craving hits!

Glass Goody Jars

Don’t: Display candy or other sweets in a glass jar, where they’re easily visible and all-too-tempting.

Do: Store healthy snacks, like sliced vegetables or nuts, in clear containers you’ll see first.

Bulk-Packaged Foods

Don’t: Serve yourself from larger packages of food, leading you to over-indulge.

Do: Distribute family-size packages into single-serving portions, so you’ll have just enough food to satisfy your appetite.

Serving Dishes

Don’t: Move serving dishes to the table, leading to over-sized portions.

Do: Serve food from the counter or the stove, where it’s less easily accessible for extra servings.

Cabinet Storage

Don’t: Organize your cabinets so junk foods are the most visible. You’re more likely to eat the first thing you see.

Do: Move healthier options to eye-level, increasing the likelihood you’ll gravitate to them first.

Experience body-transforming results safely, quickly and affordably. Call Cordova Medical Clinic today at 901-888-1000 to see how we may be able to help with your weight loss success.

Store healthy snacks, like sliced vegetables or nuts, in clear containers you’ll see first.

Simple Tips to Maintain your Goal Weight

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You’ve reached your goal weight. Congratulations! But how do you keep the pounds off?

Remember that reaching your goal weight isn’t the end of your journey, and apply the same enthusiasm to maintaining your weight as you did to shedding the pounds. In addition to sticking to a regular exercise routine, here’s some simple tips to help you stay the course.

Don’t stress.

While you’re adjusting to your new body, routine activities such as shopping, dining, and socializing may spark anxiety. If you feel nervous about living life at a lower weight, remind yourself that you’ve made a major change for your health, and give yourself time to grow comfortable in your own skin.

Eat frequently.

It may seem counterintuitive, but try to eat more often when you’re maintaining your weight. Adding two small snacks to your three daily meals prevents you from becoming too hungry, then overeating as a result.

Plan ahead.

Choose when and what you’re going to eat during the day, and update your grocery list as you run out of healthy foods. Planning your meals beforehand will help you stay satisfied and resist junk food.

Avoid triggers.

During your weight loss journey, you may have actively avoided certain patterns, places or foods that trigger overeating. Remember that you may indulge occasionally, but proactively seek alternatives to triggering situations that could sabotage your success.

Experience body-transforming results safely, quickly and affordably. Call Cordova Medical Clinic today at 901-888-1000 to see how we may be able to help with your weight loss success.

Simple Tips to Maintain your Goal Weight

 

Keeping your Weight Loss Resolutions: How to Succeed in the New Year

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We’ve all made New Year’s Resolutions, and we’ve all broken them too. This year, break the cycle of vowing to make a change and then not following through. Here some tips to help you maintain your weight loss goals in 2016.

Set Realistic Goals. Instead of setting unattainable goals that discourage your progress, maintain your motivation by setting smaller goals that are easier to attain. You can always work your way up to more challenging ones.

Create Measurable Milestones. Make your weight loss resolutions measurable, with a specific timeframe to reach them. When you divide your weight loss goals into specific and measurable increments, you know when you have met them and can move on to the next level.

Plan in Advance. Give your weight loss goals some thought before you put your plan into action. If you wait until New Year’s Eve to set your weight loss resolutions, they may based on your mindset that moment instead of steady resolve that’s been developed over time.

Share your Resolution. Don’t keep your resolution a secret. Your friends and family members can serve as your #1 support system in encouraging your progress and accommodating your lifestyle changes. You might even find a weight loss buddy who can help motivate you.

Reward Yourself. Celebrate your successes by rewarding yourself with little treats such as new workout clothes or a pedicure. Regular treats that don’t contradict your resolution can help motivate you to hit hard-earned benchmarks faster.

Don’t give up. Over the course of your weight loss journey, you will always encounter situations that could derail your diet and exercise plans, but obsessing over the occasional slip-up won’t help you reach your goals. Resist the all-or-nothing approach, and be flexible enough to evaluate your goals and progress as you go.

Experience body-transforming results safely, quickly and affordably. Call Cordova Medical Clinic today at 901-888-1000 to see how we may be able to help with your weight loss success.

New Years Resolutions: Start Healthy Living

 

Portion Control Strategies for Success

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With today’s super-sized portions, it’s easy to overeat. But there’s a few simple strategies you can use to keep your servings in check without feeling deprived. Read more below.

  • Downsize your flatware. When we eat from a large plate, we often serve ourselves oversized portions to in an attempt to fill it with food. Instead, eat from a smaller plate to put your portions in perspective, or consider investing in a portion control plate.
  • Pre-portion your snacks. The bigger the package, the more you’re likely to eat. So divide your favorite on-the-go treats into snack-sized baggies to keep you energized between meals without weighing you down.
  • Start a food diary. If you’ve never weighed your food portions before, you may be shocked to see what a proper portion looks like. Keep a food diary for at least a week to help you eyeball healthy portions.
  • Ban the buffet. Stay away from all-you-can-eat meals and dinner deals that encourage you to eat more. And remember, quantity does not equal quality!
  • Eat mindfully. Eat your meals at the table without distractions such as your TV, computer our phone. Instead, focus all your attention on the food you’re enjoying.

Experience body-transforming results safely, quickly and affordably. Call Cordova Medical Clinic today at 901-888-1000 to see how we may be able to help with your weight loss success.

Ban The Buffet to Ovoid Overeating

The Benefits of Having a Weight Loss Partner

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The road to weight loss can be a difficult one, but taking the journey with a partner can make the difference between the success and failure of your weight loss plan. Learn more about the benefits of having a weight loss partner below.

  • Your weight loss partner encourages your progress by keeping you on task and cheering you on. You can depend on them to help you stick to your diet & exercise plan, share healthy lifestyle choices, and celebrate your successes.
  • Staying accountable to a partner who’s both understanding and tough can help you avoid mindless eating, junk food binges and other diet pitfalls. Plus, you will be much less likely to skip a workout if you have scheduled it with someone is counting on you.
  • It’s easy to talk yourself into skipping a workout or cheating your diet, but a weight loss partner can help you power through everyday obstacles like fatigue, stress and laziness. Working together towards your goals can make the weight loss experience more positive and empowering for both of you.

Experience body-transforming results safely, quickly and affordably. Call Cordova Medical Clinic today at  901-888-1000  to see how we may be able to help with your weight loss success.

Weight Loss Partner

 

Losing Weight Over The Holidays

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  • Stick to your plan. You will need a plan you can use to lose weight whether it is holiday season or not. If you don’t plan, weight loss isn’t likely to happen.
  • Log your food. You can do this on paper or with an app like MyFitnessPal. If you log it, you’re less likely to overeat. The beauty of using MyFitnessPal is that it also tracks your exercise for you as well.
  • Plan meals and snacks. It is too easy to be tempted to eat out at a restaurant while holiday shopping, so plan your meals at least once a week (even if it’s just stocking your freezer with Lean Cuisine or Jenny Craig meals), and eat them before you go out. And bring healthy snacks to work so you’ll have a better alternative to cookies and candy that will be brought in.
  • Plan to exercise. Make it an appointment in your calendar. If you can, make it early in your day, so you can feel good about getting your day off to a great start. And also try to find an exercise partner. If you have someone counting on you to walk, run, bike or whatever, you’re both going to benefit, and it will be more fun to work out.
  • Start a new family tradition: the family holiday walk. If everyone goes for a walk, conversation will make it fun and you’ll all be away from food and burning calories.
  • Keep portions reasonable. This is where a prescribed appetite suppressant like phentermine can help. Plus, phentermine also gives most patients energy, so workouts are easier as well.
  • Limit alcohol. Too much alcohol can make you forget about your weight loss and fitness plan. If you do drink, nurse one lower-calorie drink (like a shot of liquor with diet soda). And alcohol has calories, too. Be sure to count it in your daily intake.
  • Never arrive at a party hungry! Eat your healthy food before you go, and drink lots of water before and during the party.
  • If you slip up one day, don’t give up. One day will not ruin your plan. Just begin with a fresh start the next morning.

 

Losing Weight Over The Holidays

 

 

Setting Attainable Weight Loss Goals

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Setting the right goals can make or break your weight loss plan, so it’s important to choose targets that are both challenging and attainable. How can you choose and maintain goals that motivate your weight loss success? Learn more below.

Be realistic. When it comes to weight loss, people often set difficult or even impossible goals to reach. When you set unrealistic goals and then fail to achieve them, it’s easy to get discouraged and give up. Maintain your motivation by setting smaller goals that are easier to attain, and working your way up to more challenging ones.

Be flexible. You will always encounter situations that could derail your diet and exercise plans—such as social commitments, scheduling conflicts, or just a long, tough day. Resist the all-or-nothing approach, and always be willing to evaluate your goals and progress as you go. You’ll be more likely to stay the course to weight loss success.

Be accountable. Keep a running checklist of your weight loss and fitness goals, and every time you reach a new goal, cross it off the list. By monitoring both your slip-ups and successes, you can stay in touch with your real progress and make changes where needed.

Be specific. Open-ended goals such as “I will exercise more” tend to inspire less commitment than specific, measurable goals such as “I will exercise for 45 minutes after work Monday through Friday from 5:30-6:15 PM.” When you set specific goals, you know when you have met them and can move on to the next level.

Experience body-transforming results safely, quickly and affordably. Call Cordova Medical Clinic today at  901-888-1000  to see how we may be able to help with your weight loss success.

Weight Loss Goals

Recognizing and Overcoming Emotional Eating

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Sometimes, we don’t just eat to satisfy hunger, turning to food instead to relieve stress, cope with sadness or reward ourselves. But emotional eating doesn’t fix emotional problems —it usually makes them worse. Read more below about how you can recognize and overcome emotional eating.

Keep a food journal. Do you turn to food when you’re stressed, lonely or bored? Starting a food journal to keep track of your mood when you eat, which foods you eat, what time of day, etc. will help you identify your emotional eating patterns and choose other ways to feed your feelings.

Use a hunger scale. Learn to recognize your physical hunger and ask yourself “Am I really hungry?” before automatically tossing something into your mouth.  Rate your hunger on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being starving and 5 being full. Don’t wait till 1 or 2 to start eating, but avoid eating when you’re at a 4 or a 5.

Take a time-out. Pause when cravings hit, and process your negative emotions. Learning to accept your feelings without using food to avoid them gives you power back over your actions. Don’t be scared to learn more about the things that make you sad, scared or happy.

Develop healthy lifestyle habits. Exercising regularly can help reduce stress, depression and anxiety — some of the most common emotional eating triggers. When you’re physically strong, healthy and rested, you’re better equipped to handle the curveballs that life throws without turning to food.

Stay positive. If you experience a setback in overcoming emotional eating, then forgive yourself and start fresh tomorrow. Focus on the positive changes you’re making and, use your setback as a learning experience.

Experience body-transforming results safely, quickly and affordably. Call Cordova Medical Clinic today at  901-888-1000  to see how we may be able to help with your weight loss success.

Recognizing and Overcoming Emotional Eating

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