One of the biggest obstacles I hear from busy moms who are trying to lose weight is how complicated it can get. Whether it’s tracking points, weighing and measuring all their food, following a strict diet and exercise regime….the list goes on.
And it has also been shown that 70%-80% of weight loss
efforts are more affected by the food you’re eating than the exercises you’re doing.
DO NOT get me wrong – THEY ARE BOTH
IMPORTANT! Nutrition and Physical Activity are critical to your health and
wellness.
But when it comes to weight loss, or reducing body fat and
increasing lean muscle, I think we sometimes “miss the forest for the trees”.
We’re so busy trying to find that quick, easy THING that’s going to turn
our fat into muscle overnight that we forget we might be missing a simpler
answer.
If we are overeating, eating unhealthy foods (lacking
essential nutrients), or not eating enough healthy foods (nutrient-dense), here
are three simple tips for getting on track without going to extremes or adding
yet another thing to your life and schedule.
(Re)Learn Your Portion Sizes. MOST people in America
today DO NOT know what a correct portion size is. We have grown up in a
culture of “super-size” everything. Eating at a restaurant, we’re usually
served two- to four-times the appropriate amount of food. Even the foods we
cook at home are typically inaccurate. You would probably be shocked at what the
correct serving size of most foods are. I know I was!
One of the basic problems with weight loss (reducing fat
mass) is we are overeating and don’t realize it. The simple fix is to learn
the correct portion sizes of your food.
Now, before you freak out, please hear me out. There are CERTAIN
foods that you probably don’t need to worry about the “correct” portion size as
much – lean protein, non-starchy vegetables (broccoli, tomatoes, green
beans, carrots, celery, asparagus, zucchini, etc.), and fruits. In all honesty,
you’re probably not eating ENOUGH of these foods to begin with. So,
worrying about measuring them out or figuring out correct portions isn’t a big
deal.
However, starchy vegetables (potatoes, corn, peas), legumes, grain products (pasta, rice, bread, oatmeal), fats (including fatty meats and dairy products), and sugary foods are something that need to be monitored more closely. This is where learning the correct portions comes into play.
Another easy thing to do is Cut It In Half.
Whatever you’re eating, eat half. Or, if you’re eating out/have to grab fast
food, order a small everything.
Even if you’ve already put it on your plate at home. Stop,
take a few minutes, and then take half of it off your plate. “Our eyes are bigger
than our stomachs”, or our brain is telling us we’re going to starve, there’s
food here, eat it all now. This IS NOT TRUE. Eat half. If you’re still
hungry after 20 minutes, eat HALF of the other half. Give your body the
chance to get the satiety hormones to your brain to signal you’re full.
Or full enough, which leads to Aim for 80% Full. This actually takes some practice, not gonna lie. You have to slow down and PAY ATTENTION to how full you’re getting. Speaking from personal experience, I really struggle to stop eating when I’m starting to feel full, mostly because I hate the idea of wasting my food, or only taking home two or three bites of something. But stopping at 80% full will help you tremendously in the long run.
Go For The Rainbow. When it comes to improving your
nutrition, and losing weight (reducing fat mass) going for more fruits and
vegetables is HUGE. I won’t even get into the nutritional benefits in
detail. Frankly, there are too many.
Eat MORE of them!
But go for the rainbow when it comes to your fruits and veggies.
Each different color contains different vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and
fiber content. Even different colored apples or grapes can have differences in
their nutritional content.
When you go for more fruits and veggies, and shake up the colors you choose as often as possible (and can afford, sometimes “special” colors of veggies can get expensive – ex. purple or orange cauliflower), it makes eating those foods more enjoyable and you’ll want to have them more often. And as stated earlier, you’re probably not eating enough of them anyway.
Power Pack Your Protein. Eat more protein. It’s
actually as simple as that. For a woman who wants to lose weight, or reduce her
body fat mass and increase her lean muscle mass, you HAVE to eat more
protein. You’re probably not eating as much as you think you are, or should be
eating.
The recommended guidelines for
protein intake for fat loss/muscle gain are 0.8-1.6 grams of protein per pound
of ideal body weight. So, if your goal is 150 pounds (using simple math here)
your ideal protein intake would be 120-240 grams of protein per day.
And yes, this is a lot of protein for someone who isn’t used
to eating that much of it all the time. But, the good news is that because you
haven’t been eating as much as you should, when you start eating MORE, the
results are going to be powerful.
Another good thing about protein is that there are also
multiple plant sources, and not just animal sources. So, you’re not going to
have to stuff yourself full of chicken, cottage cheese, eggs, or steak all day
unless you simply want to. A meal of 4 oz. of grilled chicken, 1 cup of asparagus
or broccoli, and 1 cup of quinoa contains between 35-40 grams of protein.
While none of these tips are revolutionary or earth-shatteringly new, I think they are important for busy moms to revisit. We might not be able to find the time to hit the gym six days a week, or be into eating kale salad every day for lunch, but it’s possible to make a few little adjustments here and there to help ourselves out.
Did I completely give up ALL unhealthy food? No.
But the adjustments I DID make helped me drop those first twenty in what felt like no time at all.
If you would like to learn more about how health and nutrition coaching can help you with your health, nutrition, or weight loss journey, Booka FREE Consultation.
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