Lose Weight in Summer

Can you lose weight in Summer? You sure can!

In Australia, we're in the beginning of the second month of Summer. Some states have certainly been having hot summer weather, sending people inside where it's cool. That means people may not be doing their usual jogging or walking to keep fit. They're staying inside instead, and maybe they're raiding the fridge in their search for coolness.

This can lead to eating too many sweet and cool things. This, added to the lack of exercise and combined with the usual Christmas season partying and good food, all adds up to danger time if you're trying to lose weight. There are some ways you can stock the fridge though, that can help you.

Keep the fridge topped up with calorie free drinks - water is still the best thirst quencher there is, so make sure you always have a jug of water in the fridge. There are a great many diet soft drinks available if you want a change from water every now and then.

There are some great cooling foods available in summer, especially grapes. Crunchy sweet grapes are a lovely snack, and don't add too many calories. Other good food ideas are sandwiches - cheese with pickles says summer to me, and I love the sandwiches nice and cool, sometimes with some chicken or turkey slices, yum!

Nuts are also a good snack. Yes, nuts are high in fat, but the fat they have is a fat that's healthy for you body. This doesn't mean you should go overboard and eat nuts all day, the weight would pile on if you did that. Nuts are high in protein though, and they have fibre too, so they fill up your tummy, and your body shouldn't get hungry as it would if you were eating sweet foods.

In summer, salads come to mind, and they can be a great way to have a healthy and low calorie meal. Be careful with the dressing you use though. There are some excellent low cal mayonnaise products available in the shops, and of course lemon juice is a great way to give raw vegetables a zing. Another interesting and no fat dressing is balsamic vinegar - excellent with fresh mushrooms and baby spinach!

For people with Wii Fit games and good air conditioning, there are lots of fun ways to exercise, alone or with friends. And of course summer in Australia is synonymous with the beach or the pool. Go outside and play in the water, fun, fun, fun!

So there are some ideas to help you lose weight over summer, enjoy!

Are You Really Hungry?

These days there are so many people who are trying to lose weight! There are many businesses out there too, who claim to be there to help people rid themselves of the unwanted weight.

Some of these businesses are honest and do a good job, but others don't really seem to be trying to help, they just want to keep on selling their services or goods and making money. It seems they just don't care about the person with the weight loss problem. This can become expensive and saddening for people who pay their money but don't get the results they want.

There are cheap ways to lose weight though. One of the first things people need to do is to think about the reasons why they may be overweight. It's a simple maths problem - if you eat more food than you burn off by doing things, your body will store the excess weight as fat on your body. Simple! Don't eat too much and you will lose weigh.

As we all know though, not eating too much can be the hardest thing to do. We feel hungry, so we eat. But often the messages your body is sending you may not be about hunger. Feeling thirsty can be mistaken for feeling hungry. If you think you're hungry, why not try having a drink of water before you eat anything. Leave it for a while, then, if you still feel hungry, eat something. Often, the drink will satisfy your body.

Another reason people eat may eat because they feel sad. Eating may help them to feel happy and loved. This type of  'comfort eating' though, can lead to a person going from feeling happy and loved to feeling sad and unloved. A phone call to a friend may help a person feel happy and loved, without the extra and unneeded food!

Boredom can be another reason some people eat more than they need. If you're feeling bored, try going for a walk instead of getting stuck into the food. Walking, of course, has the extra benefit of using up the food you eat, and also making you feel fitter.

So, next time you think you're hungry, think again. Are you really hungry, or could you be thirsty, sad or bored instead? If you start thinking about these things before you eat, you may surprise yourself, and start losing the weight you don't want!

Pre News Years Eve Resolution

We all mean to do well over the Christmas period. We say or think we'll eat wisely and not have too much, and we'll do some exercises too. Sadly, for many, that doesn't happen.

Not meeting these goals though, doesn't mean all is lost. The best time to get back on track if you're trying to lose weight or get fitter isn't next week, or next month. The best time to get back on track is right now!

Right now, you can decide whether you're truly hungry, or simply bored. Right now you can walk up those steps instead of catching a lift. Right now you can eat a piece of fruit instead of the tasty but fat laden cake you've been thinking about.

The new year means party time for many, and party time often goes with lots of food, fattening food. Arm yourself if you go to a party with some low fat and calorie snacks, such as rice crackers. Either take them with you, or eat a meal before you go out, and stay firm when you tell others you're not hungry.

If it's too difficult to do, stick to the healthiest foods you can see at the party, and have lots of water to drink. The water will help you to feel full, and will be good for your body too.

Christmas time is often holiday time too. Get out, walk around your neighbourhood. You can often find interesting things quite close by if you travel by foot. Driving around means you can sometimes drive past things you would have enjoyed, if you'd been going slowly.

There are many things to do to lose weight that a free or at least cheap. Walking is always a good one, swimming is too. Most biggish towns have a heated indoor pool which is available to the public at a reasonable price.

If you've been a couch potato for many years and think you can't do anything, at least get up and walk a little bit. It doesn't have to be a 20 hike to do you good. Just walking to the letter box and back a couple of times can be a good start. Do it twice one day, then slowly increase the number of times every day. Before you know it, you might be going beyond your letterbox!

These small things can all add up. As you get fitter, you may feel more like getting out and about. Getting fitter isn't just about getting slimmer, it's about becoming more comfortable with your own body too. You may realise your body loves the new fitter you you've become!

2 Fruit and 5 Vegetable

I've heard about the push from the health authorities for years. Where they try to get Australians to eat more fruit and vegetables.

It has always made me feel a little guilty, because I don't eat that many vegetable. I eat potatoes, and onions, mushrooms too, most days. But I could only rarely manage to eat 5 different vegetables.

Imagine my joy yesterday when I discovered I was mixed up. I didn't have to eat different vegetables, I just had to eat five servings of vegetables. I could have three servings of potatoes and two of sweetcorn, if that was what I wanted. Or five servings of mushrooms!

I found out this liberating information yesterday at my Community Foodies training, and it made me so happy! I've been beating myself up as a bad mother for not giving my son five different veges every day, when all I needed to do is feed him lots of my yummy home-made wedges, and some sweet corn, and I could wear my good mother hat with pride!

Of course, eating a wide variety of food, whether fruit, vegetable, grains, dairy or meat is the best way. Food scientists know a lot about food, but they are always discovering new things. If we all eat a bit of everything, then we'll get all of the goodies scientists know about, and also the goodies they haven't discovered yet.

Yesterday we learned about the five food groups, how to read labels including understanding the sometimes misleading language on them, antioxidants, fibre, the importance of eating breakfast and drinking enough water. We also have a delicious curry cooked by one of the other people doing the course. Thanks Shirley! It was a great day of sharing what we already knew, and learning more.

So part of my homework is having breakfast every day, and drinking more water - I am not good about these things, but now I have more information about why they are important, so I will follow the guidelines better.

Breakfast is another opportunity to fit more serves of different foods into my day, and water helps my body do what it does. I'm convinced now, and I'm going to get my breakfast of cereal right now!