How to jumpstart your weight loss plan - part 2

• The first trick is: bulk up your servings. Eat more fruits and vegetables, they are high in fiber and high in water, and will make you feel full for very few calories. You can also add whole grains, lean proteins to vegetables.

• Add more protein to your meals and snacks. Protein is an important aspect of appetite control. It keeps you full. Eat protein at every meal, and with snacks. For example, have apple slices with a bit of peanut butter. Have a protein and carb combination.

• Don't assume you have to miss foods you love. Reserve 10% of your calories for fun foods. If you’re eating 1600 calories a day, you can have 160 calories of fun, like a reduced fat ice cream cone, a couple of cookies, maybe some Hershey’s kisses. Pay attention to portions. And watch out for food amnesia…be aware of what you're really eating, and don't tell yourself you're not having treats when you really are.

JENNIFER:  Hi I’m Jennifer Morris for howdini and we’re back with Trisha Calvo, Executive Editor of Shape magazine whose telling us how to jumpstart our diet. And she is going to give us three simple steps to stay on track with your weight loss plan.

TRISHA:  One of the most important things you can do when your trying to lose weight is to bulk up your servings. What does that mean? It means eating more fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are very high in water and very low in calories, and they are very high in fiber. So the water and the fiber in combination make you feel full for very few calories. And that is exactly what we are trying to do when you’re trying to lose weight. So eat vegetables and fruits for snacks instead of chips not and cookies. When you have them fill the plate around two-thirds full and one third of the plate meat. If you want to add some whole grains into there too they are also very high in fiber they are good for you. Things like vulgar, whole-wheat coos coos, those are all nice things and you can mix them in with your vegetables. Beans are also a very good option. So that’s one f the things you can do. The next thing you can do is to add more protein to your meals. Protein is very important in appetite control. Protein keeps you full, and in combination with fiber very satisfied. So you want to eat protein at every meal and snack. And obviously in your meals you’ll eat a little more protein then in your snacks, where you’ll eat a little bit less. So let me give you an example for your snack, take an apple and spread it with a little bit of peanut butter. That’s a nice carb and protein combination, has some fiber to keep you full. Hand full of nuts, maybe some almonds, raisons, that’s also a really nice snack. String cheese, low in calories, with a couple of crackers, that’s also a really terrific snack. And that will have that protein carb combination.

JENNIFER:  For sort of like a mean would you recommend chicken?

TRISHA:  I think that you can use any lean protein. Lean beef, lean chicken, pork tenderloin, it’s a wonderful lean source of protein, tofu and beans. They are also really high in protein.

JENNIFER:  Ok so what about my favorite foods that I’m going to miss?

TRISHA:  You don’t have to miss them, you can eat them, but what you want to do is reserve ten percent of your daily calorie intake for fun foods. So if you’re eating 1600 calories a day, which is a good weight loss goal for a woman who is also exercising, you want to eat 160 of those calories for fun foods. So that’s about four or five Hershey’s kisses or a few more, or a reduced fat vanilla cone from McDonald’s. It can also be a couple of cookies. You know anything, whatever you like you can fit it into your diet providing you pay attention to portions, and you pay attention to what I call food amnesia. Oh you know you can say, “Well I haven’t had a chocolate all week long, I can have chocolate today.” Well yesterday you had a cookie, and the day before you had ice cream, so maybe you didn’t have chocolate but you did have a treat every single day. So just keep it in mind and realize, be aware of how much, how many of your calories are coming from sweets and treats. And limit it to about ten percent of your daily calories.

JENNIFER:  You can do that everyday.

TRISHA:  You can do that everyday. I think is very important to include your favorite foods everyday. And for some people its chocolate, and for some its cheese. I don’t think you have to get into the mindset that you have to give something up; it just backfires all the time.

JENNIFER:  You feel like your being deprived.

TRISHA:  You feel like you’re being deprived, and that is not a good daily strategy or a life strategy. What people don’t realize about diets they are for life. When you change your eating habits you have to make a change you can stick with for life. Otherwise you’re going to have a yo-yo diet and that’s not what you want, that’s also not good for your health.

JENNIFER:  Great advice, thank you so much Trisha. I’m Jennifer Morris for howdini.