Healthy hints

So last night there was not much on TV and I came across this on the Discovery channel. They had three shows; half ton teen, half ton mom, and half ton dad. I watched the first show in complete awe, and of course had to watch the others. Now I have been obese myself before, so I understand how easy it is to gain weight. But this is insane. We have the highest obesity rate of any country. We are marketed at a young age to eat processed, pre-packaged crap. There is high fructose corn syrup in everything. They add this to food to make it sweet so it tastes better and you eat more. Ketchup, pickles, yogurt, and cereal all have HFCS, to name a few. I read Michael Pollan's book, In Defense of Food, which is all about food health. I highly reccomend reading this book it will change the way you look at food, or at least enlighten you.

I know a lot of people start diets for the new year. Here are some things that have helped me lose and maintain my weight.

- I don't go back for seconds and I eat off a small plate

- I order kids meals if we get fast food for the kids....its more then enough food.

- Before putting food in my mouth I ask myself " Am I hungry?", a lot of the time I am not and just eating out of boredom

- I try not to snack on the kids snacks

- If we are going to a restaurant I look up there nutrition guide ahead of time, most restaurants have this info available. Except the really sinful ones like Sonny's and Popeye's.

- When dieting I measure and weigh everything and track the calories on sparkpeople.com.

- I have one day a week where I allow myself a treat.

- I rarely drink calories with the occasional exception of a cocktail or a glass of wine.

- I weigh myself weekly so I can catch any weight gain

- And of course I exercise regularly.

Hope this helps!