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| Journal of a Non-Dieter |
New Downloadable Spreadsheet!
I've tried many methods of keeping track of my points over the years. I've written in notebooks, in Excel spreadsheets, and just tried to keep track in my head. Currently, I keep my food journal on my blog, though I'll admit to not being great about writing everything down every day. Though I currently track in my blog, the easiest way to do it is in an Excel spreadsheet. And luckily for you, I've whipped one up for you to download and start using immediately. It also includes a point calculator for those items you can't find on one of my lists. Instructions are on a separate sheet in the book. You can download the spreadsheet by simply clicking here.
Save Up Your Points!
Sometimes you'll have days where you just don't eat all the points you're allowed. If you want, you can save up all those little points and use them for a dinner out or a special dessert. That's where using a spreadsheet comes in handy--it will track your points over the course of the week and automatically calculate how many points you have left at the end of the week. Now, remember.. it's not a good idea to routinely aim to eat under your point allowance--that's a sure way to fall off the bandwagon. But in a given week, there will be days when you're full on less, and you can take advantage of that. Also remember that points do not carry over from week to week, you can only save up unused points until the end of the current week.
Don't Waste Points!
For me, I've never understood why someone would waste perfectly good points on drinks--soda, lemonade, beer, etc. I'll drink water, thank you very much, and save my points for something tastier and more filling. Now, you might be the opposite, but surely there's something that you can easily do without and stop wasting points. Maybe you'd be just as happy having your vegetables without butter, or your salad without dressing. Maybe you don't need mayo on your sandwich. Whatever the case is for you, try to find ways to cut back in places where you won't even notice. It may only be a point or two here and there, but that'll add up over time.
Zero Points? Even Better!
We all know that we should be filling up on zero points food (mainly vegetables). But some foods are even better.. certain vegetables like cucumbers, spinach, celery, watercress, alfalfa sprouts, beet greens, cabbage, chives, endive, lettuce, radishes, garlic, mushrooms, seaweeds, turnip greens, and water chestnuts all burn more calories digesting them than they contain. So, in theory, just eating a cucumber makes you lose weight. In reality, that isn't quite true, but these are all definitely veggies you want to eat a lot of. You can also include broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, peppers, and tomato, but those veggies are borderline. So, if you're going to have a snack, why not cut up a cucumber and pour some vinegar over it? Zero points, and you may actually burn more than you ate. Pretty good, huh? Unfortunately you can't be sneaky and count these veggies as negative points, but that's alright.
Set Yourself Up for Success
Creating a fail-safe environment can be key in making sure you stay on track. It can be painful to purge your kitchen of 'perfectly good' food, but in all honesty, junk food is not perfectly good! It doesn't provide your body with quality nutrients, it doesn't give you energy, and it makes you fat and even possibly sick! So get rid of all the unhealthy food in your house and remove that temptation. Don't forget to clean out your office and car, as well. If you have a problem with finding yourself famished at work or on the road, stock up on healthy treats like nuts, dried fruit, and even some kinds of meal replacement bars.
Write It Out
For many overweight people, food fills an emotional need. Therapy can certainly help on that end, but a far cheaper (though not necessarily as effective) solution is to write down your thoughts, struggles, and triumphs. Go the traditional route and buy yourself a journal or jump into blogging. If writing isn't for you, find a good listener, even if it's your cat or a house plant. It helps so much to be able to get things off your chest, and it may help you to be able to resist those tempting foods.
Whole Foods
At the risk of sounding like a health nut (sure, a 100 lb overweight health nut, ha!), it really is better to cut back on processed foods. A lot of the additives are so unhealthy for you and can affect your mood and mind in addition to your body. I just made the unpleasant discovery that artificial sweeteners cause me to crave sugar. It's insane, I know.. but I can't deny it. When I reintroduce even just one serving of artificial sweeteners, I find myself obsessing over sugar all day long. Besides that, there are other health risks with things like high fructose corn syrup, which has been shown to contain mercury (which is almost the least of the problems with HFCS). Switch to foods with as few ingredients as possible, whole grain all around, and your body will thank you for it. If you find you simply don't have the time to cook from scratch every night, make double or even triple batches of healthy meals on weekends and freeze the extra. Soon you'll find yourself with a freezer full of already cooked healthy meals!
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