FatMatters » weight loss plan http://www.fatmatters.com Mind Over Fat Matters Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:03:21 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 How to Eat Well with Little Cooking: Fast Food That is Also Nutritious http://www.fatmatters.com/how-to-eat-well-with-little-cooking/ http://www.fatmatters.com/how-to-eat-well-with-little-cooking/#comments Tue, 02 Nov 2010 17:48:08 +0000 Dr. Rodriguez http://www.fatmatters.com/?p=1601

Many people complain that they can’t eat well because they don’t have time to cook. Eating well does not have to take time. There are fast ways to get what is needed.

Many people complain that they can’t eat well because they don’t have time to cook. Eating well does not have to take time. There are fast ways to get what is needed.

It’s a fact. In order to manage weight successfully for a lifetime, an active lifestyle and eating nutritiously are required. Today’s stressful and hectic lifestyles makes it difficult to eat nutritiously the way that most people think it has to be done – through daily cooking of vitamin and mineral rich foods from scratch. While this method will guarantee quality intake, there are other ways to accomplish the same thing with little time.

Nutritious Meal Tips Requiring Little Cooking at Home

Nutrition can be obtained with little effort and some fore thought by following some of the tips below:

  • Always cook extra food that can be frozen in individual serving containers. These meals can be easily selected and microwaved at work, when returning home too tired to cook, or in any other situation where time is limited.
  • Buy frozen, boneless, skinless chicken breasts that come individually frozen. Microwave several at a time. Use individual serving containers to put the cooked chicken breasts in. Add frozen vegetables of your choice (still frozen) to the serving dish and freeze. These can be easily taken to work during the week or eaten any other time by simply microwaving for approximately five minutes.
  • A nutritious meal doesn’t necessarily need cooking. For example, you can take your plate and fill it with fresh veggies such as carrots, celery, plum tomatoes or zucchini. Add some fresh fruit, whole grain crackers or whole grain bread, a couple of slices of cheese or yogurt, and some slices of high quality lunch meat and you’ve included all the major food groups. You can even add some nutritious nuts. There’s no cooking required, but you’ll still get lots of vitamins and minerals.
  • It’s perfectly acceptable periodically to eat cereal as a meal as long as it’s a highly nutritious cereal. If you add fresh fruit or nuts to the cereal, you’re adding even more nutrition.

Mental Tip for Eating Nutritiously While Saving Time

It’s easy to think in a negative, self-defeating way, but negativity destroys creativity and prevents problem-solving. When a person says, “I can’t,” the brain will go no further in trying to find a way around any obstacles. Instead, if a person faces a problem by saying, “How can I?” the brain will start searching for a solution. So, instead of thinking, “I can’t eat well because I have no time,” or whatever the reason may be, asking, “How can I eat better despite my busy schedule?” (or other obstacles). There are no perfect solutions to most problems, therefore, perfection should not be sought. Instead, it’s better to look simply for improvement. If improvement is the goal, solutions are easier to find. With time, solutions can be tweaked to solve problems even better.

Eating Out While Still Eating Well

While eating out should be kept to a minimum if the intention is to eat nutritiously and manage weight, sometimes it can’t be helped. Today there are better options than there used to be for getting more nutrition away from home even in “fast food” restaurants. There are also some places where a quick nutritious meal can be had without going to the usual “burger joints.” Places like Panera, Boston Market, and Sweet Tomatoes allow for such nutrition packed meals on the go.

Copyright Lavinia Rodriguez. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.

]]> http://www.fatmatters.com/how-to-eat-well-with-little-cooking/feed/ 0 Diet or a Fat Burning Lifestyle? http://www.fatmatters.com/fat-burning/ http://www.fatmatters.com/fat-burning/#comments Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:58:34 +0000 Dr. Rodriguez http://www.fatmatters.com/?p=466

A diet is something we go on reluctantly because we know it’s going to deprive us of those things we like the best.  We expect to be off the diet at some point but we also fear going off of it because we’ve been down the “yo-yo road” before.  In fact the only thing we look forward to when going on a diet is the possible fat burning. 

On the other hand, a fat burning lifestyle plan is something that is sensible, flexible, is individualized, doesn’t eliminate any particular foods completely, includes exercise, can easily be followed for the rest of our lives, and has realistic goals. That is why it’s easier both physically and mentally to be on a fat burning lifestyle rather than a diet.  Just as important is the fact that a fat burning lifestyle is a more effective and permanent way to lose fat.

Characteristics of a Fat Burning Lifestyle

A fat burning lifestyle:

  • Has an adequate number of daily calories.  Calorie intake should be below what you burn daily but not so low that you’re hungry a lot.
  • Includes at least 4-5 eating episodes per day.
  • Includes all food groups (e.g. bread/cereal, fruit/vegetable, protein, and dairy).
  • Includes plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.
  • Is high in fiber.
  • Does not exclude carbohydrates.
  • Includes some protein in each meal.
  • Includes aerobic as well as muscle resistance exercises at least five times per week.
  • Does not exclude your favorite foods.
  • Does not force you to eat foods you don’t like but encourages you to experiment with recipes to help you find ways to make nutritious foods that you haven’t liked, tasty.
  • Focuses on increasing your activity level in general-gets you off the couch and moving around.
  • Focuses less on the weight and more on the behaviors that burn fat (e.g. moving more, increasing fiber and nutrition, portion control).
  • Doesn’t involve strict measuring and counting but easy ways of understanding portion control and nutrition.

Why go on a fat burning lifestyle plan instead of a diet?

  • Ninety percent of dieting attempts fail with the dieter regaining more weight than was originally lost.
  • Diets make you feel deprived and hungry.  A fat burning lifestyle plan encourages frequent eating which prevents hunger and burns more fat.
  • Diets focus primarily on a low calorie food plan rather than increasing exercise and muscle building which are the most efficient ways of burning fat.
  • With a fat burning lifestyle plan your favorite foods are not completely eliminated so you don’t feel deprived.
  • Diets make you preoccupied with food which leads to overeating.

These are just a few of the reasons why diets don’t work and why, if you want to succeed at weight loss, you should stay clear of diets and instead choose a sensible and realistic fat burning lifestyle plan.  I recommend that you read my post on why diets fail which will give a better understanding of how to set up your weight loss plan in a smart way and avoid failure.  It’s about fat burning for a lifetime not just while you’re on a diet.

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