Secret to Weight Loss Success 

Food Journaling

Day after day, it's hard to stay motivated. But experts recommend that you record your daily meals in a food journal. It can really help you to make a difference in what you choose to eat throughout the day. Click here for WebMd’s printable food journal.

The Mediterranean Diet for Weight Loss

Low in red meats, sugars and saturated fats and an emphasis on an active lifestyle, the Mediterranean Dietis a balanced diet to promote good overall health and weight.  A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine and reported by the Associated Press, stated that Mediterranean-style diets led to a 30 percent lower risk of cardiovascular problems, comparedto a “low-fat diet” and is useful for weight loss, heart and brain health, and prevention of chronic diseases including cancer and diabetes.

What is the Mediterranean Diet?
The Mediterranean diet is a lifestyle change that places an emphasis on:

• Eating an abundance of food from plant-based sources (10 servings a day)
• Eating only locally grown, minimally processed foods
• Using olive oil as the principle fat in the diet (replace butter and cooking oils with it)
• Total fat consumption of less than 25-35 percent of the diet, with saturated fat no
  higher than 7 to 8 percent
• Low consumption of cheese and yogurt
• Twice a week, consumption of fish or poultry
• Up to seven eggs a week (in cooking or baking)
• Fresh fruit as a daily dessert
• Red meat only a few times per month
• Regular physical activity
• One glass a day of red wine
• The use of herbs and spices for flavoring rather than salts

Food Portions & Exercise = Weight-Loss

Courtesy LifeHacker

It's Simple; To Lose Weight, You Must Use More Calories Than You Eat.

Research suggests that safe weight loss involves combining a reduced-calorie diet with physical activity. Simply put; you need to at smaller portions and burn more calories by exercising.

We suggest that you get 150 to 300 minutes of moderately intense or vigorous physical activity each week. Even 10 minutes of activity at a time can add up over the week. Click here for free cardio exercise videos.

We also recommend that you strengthen your muscles at least twice a week; strength-training builds more muscle and muscle helps you to burn more calories. Do strength-training exercises, lift weights, or work with rubber resistance bands. Click here for free weight-training videos.

Combining these healthy habits will help you to lose weight and keep it off. These practices may also help you to lower your risk of developing heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

What is the Right Balance of Protein, Carbs and Fats?
Find at the Diet and Marathon: Eating and Training Class
Wednesday, March 20, 6:30 to 8:30 pm
The right balance of protein, carbs and fats is important for building and repairing muscles. Join Krista Machon, RD, LD, as she discusses pre- and post-nutritional needs for the athlete. FREE! Register at stjosephhospital.com or call 603.595.3168

Brown Bag It or Healthy Lunch Out?

Brown bag lunches don’t have to be boring or fat-laden; there are some easy and healthy alternatives!

To keep you on track, we have assembled a Pinterest board dedicated to Lunch Ideas such as: 5-Minute Turkey, Avocado, and Hummus Wrap or a Hummus and Roasted Veggie Pizza.
Check out these lunch suggestions here on the Lunch ideas Pinterest board.

Healthy and low-calorie lunches at McDonald's, Chick-fil-A and Subway. Really?

With all the demands on our time, fast food has become a fact of life. Click here for Family Circle’s guide to choosing diet-friendly menu items at fast food restaurants.

Need Extra Help In Making Healthier Food Choices?

Diet and Marathon: Eating and Training Class
Wednesday, March 20, 6:30 to 8:30 pm
The right balance of protein, carbs and fats is important for building and repairing muscles. Join Krista Machon, RD, LD, as she discusses pre- and post-nutritional needs for the athlete. FREE! Register at stjosephhospital.com or call 603.595.3168

Eating to Lose Weight and For a Healthy Heart

Here are some tips to add healthy eating habits to your daily life. By making small changes like these over time, these behaviors are more likely to stick.(American Heart Association) 

• Eat more fruits and vegetables. Aim for 4-5 servings each of fruits and vegetables every day, if you consume a 2,000 calorie diet. Vegetable or 100% fruit juice counts toward this goal.

• Eat more whole-grain foods. Like fruits and vegetables, whole-grain foods are low in saturated fat and cholesterol and rich in fiber. Whole-grain foods include whole-wheat bread, rye bread, brown rice and whole-grain cereal.

New Year. New Tools to Keep You on Track!

To be successful losing weight you need to make sure that you are eating the correct
amount of calories and getting the right amount exercise each and every day. Knowing the calorie count for everything you eat, remembering to record each bite that you consume and recording your activity minutes isn’t always easy.  But, there’s hope with new weight-loss tools created for your smart phone. Best of all, these apps are all free downloads and available on most popular smart phone platforms .

“Here’s a list of the best apps for exercise, healthy eating and keeping track that that Jennifer Cohen, Forbes.com (Jan. 2013) put together.

1. Lose it! This free app lets you look up food to track calories AND track your exercise in the same app. Just input your current weight and your goal weight, and Lose it! will give you a fairly accurate estimate of how many calories to eat per day, and how long it should take to reach that goal...You can also scan the barcodes of almost any item and automatically pull calorie and nutritional info from a huge online database, which really helps when you’re grabbing a pre-packed lunch on the go and still want to stay within your daily budgets. A must-have app! Free: Apple, Android.
2. Fooducate Fooducate helps you spot tricky non-health foods quickly by cutting your research time in half. Simply scan the barcode and Fooducate will give you a rating for the food scanned based on calorie counts per serving, processing techniques and amount of excess sugar. If you want to save time and choose health, go grocery shopping with Fooducate.
   Free: Apple, Android
3. Locavore To get the maximum amount of nutrients from food I always recommend eating fresh foods over packaged or processed. Timing is important as well; one study even showed that spinach harvested in-season had three times the Vitamin C as when it was harvested out of season! The basic rule is the farther it is from the vine, the less nutrients it has. Locavore tells you what’s in season and how many days you have left to enjoy it at its full flavor. It can also use your phone’s GPS to find the closest places to buy locally grown, in-season produce.
   Free: Apple, Android
4. Nike Training Club Nike lives up to their “Just Do It” mantra- this app is a free personal trainer in your pocket. It has 30-45 minute timed workouts for cardio, toning and strength, videos for each move and a voiceover talking you though the workout, AND it pulls music from your own playlists to keep you motivated. Just choose a workout based on the time you have and the results you want,
   and press play. The step-by-step videos and integration with your own music library make this a fantastic workout app.
   Free: Apple
5. Endomondo Who couldn’t use a little extra motivation? If you’re a runner, biker or walker, this app will track your route via Google Maps, tracking your workout history to compare later. You can also create an account and get motivated by your friends every time you break a mile. You can even upgrade the app to work with special Polar heart rate monitors (my favorite!)
   Free: Apple, Android, Blackberry
6. My Fitness Pal From start-up, My Fitness Pal takes your weight, height, goal weight and lifestyle into account before giving its recommendations. Right away it breaks up your big goal into a smaller goal 1 month away from now, which is a fantastic motivator. You can also access calorie counts and nutritional information from local restaurants, taking the guesswork out of eating out. You can also access your calorie count online from any computer, and get some extra encouragement by sharing your progress with friends.
   Free: Apple, Android
7. Eat This, Not That! The Game While I can’t condone picking one less-bad fast food over another (chili dogs over cheeseburgers? Really?), the knowledge you get from this little game may help you in your next “hot zone” situation, where there are no good choices. If you’re going to play a game on your commute or while you’re on hold on a conference call you can pick up a few quick facts.
   Free: Apple, Android

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Healthy Eating is all about you eating well to lose weight and feel great.

Lighten Up Nashua is dedicated to providing you with healthy eating resources to win!
And winning is not just about losing weight, it’s about feeling better about yourself, accomplishing your weight-loss goals and becoming a healthier you. On this page you’ll find recipes, healthy diet recommendations, tools and calculators, cooking videos and great weight loss tips. Keep checking back because we will be adding more and more resources to help you reach your goals.

Diet Recommendations. What Diet Will Work For You?

Now that you’ve made the commitment to lose weight and get healthier, you’re probably wondering what diet to follow? Nutritionists recommend choosing from following healthy and sensible diets:

Weight Watchers

A tried and true weight-loss program that has been around for many years. Many people find its “points” system easy to follow and this program teaches good portion-control habits that can help you maintain your weight-loss. Its meetings-based system harnesses the power of group support and keeping up with times has added an online version. Weight Watcher’s meal plans, sensible eating, weight-loss pace has earned it praise from many experts.

The EatingWell Diet

EatingWell's 7-Day Weight-Loss Diet Meal Plan is designed to provide an overall healthy-eating program at five different daily caloric levels: 1,200, 1,400, 1,600, 1,800 and 2,000.

You: On a Diet

Dr Mehmet C. Oz and Michael F. Roizen's site: RealAge.com offers menu plans and exercise recommendations. You can customize your own menu plan, print shopping lists and it’s all free.

The Sonoma Diet

This diet is based on delicious recipes using staples of Mediterranean eating: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, olive oil, fish, and nuts. The diet starts with a strident 10-day phase called "Wave One," which is calorie-restrictive but is supposed to help you lose your craving for eating sugar and highly processed foods. The diet does contain creative recipes and menus.

SparkPeople.com

This site offers a free four-stage diet program which uses tools, content, and support to help users make lifestyle changes. Users are prompted to enter height, weight, and amount they intend to exercise, as well as a target date and weight. The site then gives recommendations for calorie, fat, and carbohydrate intake based on calculated BMR, as well as a personalized fitness plan.

Can Meal Plans Help You Eat Healthier?

They sure can. By planning ahead and using pre-designed meal plans, you will know you are getting the right nutrition and calories and planning ahead gives you a better chance of maintaining a healthy weight. Before you meet your friend for lunch, it’s good to know how many calories or points you can eat based on what you’ve eaten for breakfast and what you plan on eating for dinner.

Here are some sample healthy meal plans below.

Weight Watcher Healthy Menus
Your Daily Meal Planner from Meals Matter
WebMD’s Healthy Weight Loss Meal Plans
Seven Day Meal Plan #1 with Weight Watcher Points
Seven Day meal Plan #2 with Weight Watcher Points
Quick and Healthy Menus from Cooking Light
Quick-Fix Lunches from Weight Watchers

In Addition To Staying Active, It’s Important To Start Your Day With A Healthy Breakfast

Studies show that if you start your day with a healthy breakfast, you have a better chance of losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight.

Here Are a Few Healthy Breakfast Ideas

Yogurt Parfait
8 ounces of light yogurt mixed with 2 tablespoons nuts and 1/2 cup berries
Nutritional Information: protein: 17.8g; carbs: 56g; fat: 17.8g; sugar: 45.7g; fiber: 4.4g
Calories: 335

Egg Sandwich
One egg white, scrambled, on a whole wheat English muffin with 1 ounce Canadian bacon and 1 slice low-fat cheese
Nutritional Information: protein: 21g; carbs: 28g; fat: 4.8g; sugar: 6g; fiber: 4.4g
Calories: 336

Lighten Up Nashua Weight-Loss Tips

Avoid high-fat meals
Keep an eye out for meals that use the following in their description because it usually means "high-fat" content:  Au gratin, Parmigiana, Tempura, Alfredo, creamy and Carbonara. 

Be mindful when you are eating
Pay attention to what you are putting in your mouth. Sit down and pay attention to the food you are eating. Really enjoy each bite.  If you're watching TV  or working while you eat, you won't be paying attention to what's going into your mouth and you might eat more and enjoy less!

Drink more water
Drink water instead of a high-fat snack. Drinking six too eight glasses a day will help fill you up and help your waistline.

Ask for a "doggie-bag before you eat
Ask your waiter for a take-home box and before you begin to eat your restaurant meal, put half of your main course in a take-home box. Putting the food away before you start your meal will help you eat a more sensible portion and you'll have leftovers to take home.

Leave something on your plate
Challenge yourself to leave half your sandwich on your plate, remove the bun from your burger or eat only half your spaghetti and meatballs. You might find out that you are satisfied enough not to eat the rest of the meal.

And most of all; Exercise, Exercise, Exercise
If you’ve been following our tips, you know that in addition to eating the appropriate amount of calories, increasing your exercise activity can be the key to helping you lose weight.  In fact, a Duke University study suggests that you walk for 45 minutes a day. The study found that “while 30 minutes of daily walking is enough to prevent weight gain in most relatively sedentary people, exercise beyond 30 minutes results in weight and fat loss. Burning an additional 300 calories a day with three miles of brisk walking (adding up to 45 minutes) could help you lose 30 pounds in a year without even changing how much you’re eating.

Staying Motivated, Yes, You Can!
We know it is not easy to stay motivated day after day, but Lighten Up Nashua is here to help with tips and suggestions to help pull you through the days when you feel that you might not make it. Here’s what we suggest:

Buddy-up: One of the most effective ways to stay on track and slim down is to be on a weight-loss team or buddy-up with a partner. Studies have shown that women lose an average of 10 pounds, when they diet and exercise with a friend or co-worker. Sharing your experience with someone else makes it easier to stay committed and not lose motivation.

Post your goals:  Proclaim your weight-loss goals on Lighten Up Nashua’s Facebook or Twitter pages. By posting your goals, you let friends, co-workers and family know that you are serious about losing weight and getting healthier. Once you announce to the world that you’ve made the commitment to lose weight, you are more apt to stick with it. You might even find that you’ll get more support and maybe even a few healthy recipes or an invitation to take a walk at lunch with your friends

Rewards: Set goals along with the rewards you will receive when you achieve your goals. If you know there is a reward waiting for you when you accomplish your goals, you are more likely to stay engaged. If you’ve told yourself that you can buy that cute pair of jeans or that new shirt once you’ve reach a certain weight, you are more apt to make it.

Make better Choices: You don’t have to deprive yourself, in fact, if you do, you might be setting yourself up for failure. Studies have shown that if you eat too little for too long you’ll not only slow your metabolism, but when you do let yourself indulge, you might go overboard. Instead of potato chips, choose raw veggies dipped in Greek yogurt flavored with onion soup mix, or choose calorie-free flavored water instead of sugar sodas. Choosing a lower calorie alternative gives you a chance
to enjoy a treat without going overboard.

Staying motivated is a “state-of-mind” and some days may be harder than other to stay engaged; between all the time pressures, tempting food choices and lack of results, it seems that your efforts can quickly derail, but just keep this in mind:
You Can Do It!

Grab your tennis shoes, put down the donut and smile,because you’re going to make it!

Have You Set Realistic Weight-Loss Goals?
If not, you might be setting yourself up to fail.

A good way to increase your chances of weight-loss success is to create realistic goals for yourself. When you meet the small goals you set, you will feel better about yourself and continue to increase your self-esteem and doing this can help you meet your ultimate weight-loss goals. Even meeting the smallest goal, such as exercising an extra 10 minutes each day, can renew your self-esteem. Defining and meeting your goals will be a huge boost to your self-image and insure a better chance at success. Because we know that permanent weight-loss takes time, effort and a lifetime commitment, it is important to stay committed to your weight-loss goals. It’s not easy to change old habits overnight. Take small steps and find out what motivates you. Take a moment to list why it’s important to you to lose weight and become healthier. Ask yourself; is it for your health and your family? Are you making a commitment to yourself that allows you to be more active and enjoy your life to the fullest? Remember that there will be peaks and valleys in your weight-loss journey. Don’t give up after a setback; just keep going and make wiser choices tomorrow.

What is the “Magic” To Losing Weight?

Evidently, the magic is what we've known all along; eating healthier, counting calories and boosting your metabolism by exercising. Sorry, but there is no magic pill; watching your calorie intake, increasing your activities, equals slow and steady weight-loss. 

Here are some of the "magic" tips that experts recommend:

• Exercise each and every day. Make exercise a part of your day. It increases metabolism and burns calories.
• Eat more fresh foods, especially fruits and vegetables. Most fruits and vegetables are low in calories and will fill you up and keep you full longer.
• Drink more water or no-calorie drinks. Sometimes we mistake thirst for hunger which means we can eat when it's not necessary. By keeping yourself well hydrated you won't feel as hungry.
• Record what you eat. Write down everything that you eat to help you manage your daily calorie intake. You'll be more aware of what you eat.
• Sit down and eat your meals. If you eat on the run, grab and go, you may not realize what you are consuming. Stop, plan your meals, sit and enjoy every bite. 

Here are some additional weight loss tips from Dr. Oz:

• Automate your eating by planning your meals ahead of time. That way you're less likely to make an unhealthy last-minute food choice.
• Oats are your friends! Eating a cup of oatmeal in the morning will prevent you from gorging in the afternoon.
• Foods with healthy fats such as olives, salmon and walnuts help you feel satisfied.
• Skipping meals can cause your body to go into a fat-storing starvation mode, making it harder to burn calories.
• Got nuts with nuts. Eating a handful of nuts will help you stay full. Try soaking them in water for a different texture.
• Use meditation to help you cope with chronic stress, which can lead you to crave feel-good carbs.
• You may be used to fried foods but there are other, sometimes healthier, ways to cook including: roasting, steaming, poaching, baking, braising and broiling.
• Do your grocery shopping with a list and a time limit; that way, you're less likely to stray into the processed foods section.
• When out at a restaurant, ask your servers to hold the bread, snack mix or chips and salsa that might come before the meal. If you're hungry, you'll be tempted.

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How do I stop making excuses and make the commitment to lose weight?

Here are weight loss tips from WebMD to help you get results fast!

Cheryl Forberg, RD
“If you really want to get the scale moving, one of the biggest first steps is to lose the white stuff, like sugar, white bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes. It sounds simple, but can be a really big change. Most people don’t realize how much sugar and refined flour is in condiments, breads, tortillas, muffins, baked goods, and bagels. Start by replacing white bread, rice, and pasta with whole grains, and instead of cakes, cookies, and candies, eat more fruit.

Start recording what you eat in a food record. Just by writing down what you eat, you take ownership that you ate it -- and that can be a powerful motivator to eat more healthfully.

Click here for this handy WebMd portion-size guide that you can take with you.

Click here for WebMd’s Printable Food Journal

Can Meal Plans Help You Stay On Track?  

You bet! By planning ahead and using healthy meal plans, you will know you are getting the right nutrition, calories and have a better chance of losing weight.

Before you meet your friend for lunch, know how many calories or points you eat based on what you've had for breakfast and what you plan on having for dinner.  

Here is one example of a healthy meal plan from
Weight Watchers  

(More available on Lighten Up Nashua's Recipes Page)  

Breakfast 

1 boiled egg (1 ½ points)
1 slice toast (1 point)
Tsp low fat spread (1/2 point)

Lunch  
Medium baked potato (2 ½ points)
Medium portion half-fat cheddar (2 ½ points)
Cucumber and tomato salad (0 points)    

Dinner  
3 Medium slices roast chicken (2 points)
2 small roast potatoes (3 points)
Mashed carrot and swede (0 points)
Gravy (tsp of granules) (1/2 point)
Ice-cream (1 scoop, any flavor) (2 ½ points)

Anytime:  
100g blackberries (1/2 point)
Medium glass wine (2 points)
2 squares of chocolate (1 ½ points)

TOTAL WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS: 20

How To Stay Motivated When You’re Trying To Lose Weight

Let’s face it one of the toughest things to do when you are trying to lose weight is to stay motivated.  When any of us begin our weight-loss we’re excited, determined to do everything right and lose those unwanted pounds, but as time goes on and the weight-loss slows, we become frustrated.

It’s hard to stay consistent, eat the right amount of calories and resist every little temptation you come across on a day-to-day basis. But, if you can remind yourself of all the reasons you why you wanted to lose weight, you may be able to resist that 600-calorie piece-of-chocolate cake that is offered to you at the office birthday party. Try to stop for one second and ask yourself “Is that piece of cake really worth the frustration I’m going to feel when I get on the scale and see that I’ve gained weight?” Regrets have a way of lasting much longer than the taste of the chocolate cake!

Here are some tips to help you stay motivated

• Have your Lighten Up Nashua team mates meet you for lunch every day. You’ll feel more accountable to eat better if your team is around and you’ll help everyone win!
• Find an exercise buddy (Perhaps one of your team mates). Exercise is an important component to losing weight and having an exercise buddy keeps you motivated on the days you might talk yourself out of working out.
• Treat yourself; if you are one those people who feels deprived when they don’t get a special treat every day, save 100-200 calories and give yourself something you’ll enjoy.
• Focus on the small victories; not on the entire amount of weight you want to lose. Reward yourself with a special “something: (Not with food) for reaching every 5lbs of weight-loss.
• Stop and assess how much better you feel now that you’ve lost 5lbs, 10lbs and how walking a mile after work is a real accomplishment.

Give yourself a pat-on-the-back for staying in it. You’re setting a good example for yourself, your friends and your family.

More Steps To Stay Motivated – Even When You Want To Quit!
Have you had a bad day or a bad week? You’ve eaten too much and you didn’t exercise? Sound familiar? Sometimes it’s hard to stay motivated each and every day and never screw up, especially when the scale doesn’t seem to move in the right direction….

Here are some simple tips to help you stay motivated:

• Make the commitment-it's a decision that you make every day; keep a journal to encourage yourself, write a contract to yourself, write up your personal list of reasons for exercising, keep them handy and
  look over them when you feel like quitting.
  
  
• Set goals to work towards; think small, attainable goals; and make them measureable so you know when you reach them.

• Make it possible by preparing ahead of time; pack your gym bags; set out your snacks the night before; plan the day to include exercise.

• Foster discipline-make it a habit; create a ritual for yourself for starting your workout; have a regular set day and time; be honest with yourself about what hinders you and take steps to address it.

• Be flexible-allow yourself some leeway; don't have an "all or nothing" attitude-you will just end up frustrated and quitting; have a back-up plan.

• Have fun with your routine-make it an enjoyable time (or as much as it can be); find an exercise buddy, find an activity that you like; use music that stimulates you; reward yourself with something other than food!

Don’t Forget: Stay Accountable To Yourself & Your Team!

Healthy Eating for Weight Loss
from WebMd

Most health experts recommend eating a balanced, healthy diet to maintain or to lose weight. But exactly what is a healthy diet?

The basic components of a healthy diet include the right amount of:

• Protein (found in fish, meat, poultry, dairy products, eggs, nuts, and beans)
• Fat (found in animal and dairy products, nuts, and oils)
• Carbohydrates (found in fruits, vegetables, pasta, rice, grains, beans and other legumes, and sweets)
• Vitamins (such as vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K)
• Minerals (such as calcium, potassium, and iron)
• Water

Click here for healthy eating recipes