If you are just getting started on your weight loss journey, I can't stress enough that you should go buy a food scale!! A nice digital one with a large surface area and a "tare" feature. (Tare allows you to pur your empty plate/bowl/whatever on the scale and then "zero" the weight out). It doesn't have to be expensive, but it is INVALUABLE to your weight loss! I was absolutely amazed at how off I was in "eyeballing" my measurements!! 4oz of chopped chicken is WAY more than I guessed! And I am a LOUSY guess-timater of shredded cheese!! Not to mention how much I can cram into my "cup" serving of cereal in the morning!! A weight serving size is going to be WAY more accurate than a measuring cup measure...I can pack more in a measuring cup than most people can fit in the trunk of their car!! "But I only ate a CUPFUL!" You just might surprise yourself at how much more you have been eating than you have been counting!! When I first bought my scale, I weighed EVERYTHING!! It was almost a game to try and guess a serving size and then actually weigh it out and see what it REALLY looks like. Sometimes I was pleasantly surprised, but more often than not, I had really just been fooling myself!
Everything that gets put in your mouth should be written down in a food journal. (Okay, nail biters, smokers, and pencil chewers have a freebie with those items, but everything ELSE has to be written down!) It doesn't need to be anything fancy, a cheap spiral notebook works fine! There is nothing like seeing it in print to help you realize how much you eat, and what KIND of things you eat! Let's see, today for instance, in ADDITION to my wonderfully planned out healthy meals, I licked a brownie batter spoon, licked the peanut butter off my fingers when I made a sandwich for one daughter, ate the last cheetos on my other daughter's lunch plate, and tasted my son's spaghetti to make sure it wasn't too hot at supper...(aren't I a great mom??). So lets see...that is probably 5 pts worth of food that I wouldn't even consider writing on my food journal...but you know what??? IT COUNTS!! Heck, that is a cupcake!! BLT's (bites, licks and tastes) are not our friends!! They will sneak up on us and sabotage all our hard work!! Write down every little thing you eat in a day and it might shock you! Try and keep your mindless eating under control. If you find yourself mindlessly eating, try to keep your mouth occupied without blowing your day -- chew sugarless gum, brush your teeth often or even use those "White-strips" (as a bonus you will have beautiful white teeth!). Do whatever it takes to keep yourself from just popping things in your mouth without thinking about it! Once you start writing everything down and you realize what you have been doing, you can stop that behavior!! It can be a real weight loss inhibitor!!
A "weight-losers" *because personally, I prefer to LOSE weight over WATCHING my weight* best weapon in your weight loss arsenal is portion control!! I am not suggesting that you go out and only buy the 100 calorie snack size portions of all those crazy foods (I even saw 100 calorie packs of Beef Jerky today???). But I do suggest you WEIGH your baked chips and put them in a baggie for your lunch! DO NOT (I repeat) DO NOT eat right out of the bag!! That is how we got into this predicament!! Meausure out the pudding when you make it into the 4 separate 1/2 cup servings. Don't let yourself be tempted to eat out of the big bowl and have just one more bite only to find you ate it all! (I am especially good at making sure brownies or cakes are cut nice and straight in the pan...you know, a sliver here to even it out, just this little corner to make it straight, LOL!) Just remember to check your serving sizes on packages or recipes, take a serving, and put the rest away! I love string cheese and sugar cubes. They are in perfect little sizes so that I can't go overboard! I know my coffee needs 2 sugar cubes and I don't end up with a huge spoonful of unnecessary calories.
I will admit, I am not a fan of most fat-free products. I would rather eat the little plastic sheet it is wrapped in than eat a slice of fat free american cheese!! However, most reduced fat products are nearly impossible to tell from full fat versions. (Especially when used in a recipe!) I adore reduced fat (RF) sour cream, cottage cheese, shredded cheese, cool whip, "cream of" soups, etc. You get the idea. If you are just starting out, don't send the whole family into shock with celery soup and plain brown rice!! Try a favorite you make already. Substitute a light version of the cream of chicken soup or sour cream. The new pastas that are higher in fiber, but still look like regular white pasta (Barilla Plus for example) are hard to tell a difference with a yummy sauce on top! Break it to them gently and they might not even notice!!
I am lazy. I admit it and have come to accept that fact. Sadly, being lazy helps make staying fat really easy. Therefore it is much easier to be LESS fat by moving MORE! Quite a concept, I know! (And I figured that out all by myself!) I am also pretty good at making excuses NOT to exercise. It's too cold, it's too hot, it's too dark, I just ate, I need to eat, I might have to go to the bathroom...the excuses just keep coming!! The truth is, ya gotta move it. And often. I thought I would try running. On my first attempt I thought I would pass out before I got to the end of the driveway...but it got better. Find something you enjoy and stick with it!!
Find someone, anyone who will listen, whether it is a WW meeting, a best friend, a co-worker, the mailman, WHOEVER...someone who can hold you accountable to weighing weekly and reporting your progress. Heck, get a free website and POST your weight if you want to!! I can't imagine if I didn't have my wonderful husband to tell everytime I have gained and/or lost. He is a great motivator as well as butt-kicker, whichever I might need! I have found that it is much easier to lie to myself than it is to lie to him!! Being accountable to him helps keep me honest, especially to myself!
You have got to be open to trying new things...If you have found yourself on the weight loss journey, you need to take a long hard look at the road that brought you here. Is is paved with chips and cupcakes?? Cheese doodles and chip dip?? WHATEVER it is that brought you here, you are going to have to open up to the idea that there just might be things out there that taste just as good and DON'T MAKE YOU FAT!! (or unhealthy or unhappy!!) Personally, I would never have tried curry. I didn't like it...granted, I had never HAD it, but never the less, I didn't like it. (what do I know??) I decided to step out on a limb and try it...and you know what??? IT IS DELICIOUS!! And so is butternut squash soup, beets, ricotta cheese and barley. Who'd have thought??? Sometimes you just have to say to yourself..."Self, you are going to have to let go of those bad old habits and stop being afraid of new foods!" Try something new everyday. If that idea is too scary, try a new food once a week. Go down the aisles of the grocery store and check out the labels on things you might not have ever noticed before!! Bean sprouts?? Why not?? Jicama?? SURE! I read somewhere that you if you want to try a new food, but aren't sure what to do with it, hang around that part of the grocery store and see who else picks it up. Ask if they have any ideas to help you prepare it to try for the first time. I thought that was so smart!! If THEY are buying it, THEY must like it!! Give it a shot...Take one recipe, buy the ingredients and TRY IT. Worst case scenario, your husband has to eat the leftovers for lunch every day that week...best case scenario, you just might find a new favorite!!!