Best Diet Weight Loss Program

Eating Confessions of a Fitness Trainer

Everybody likes a juicy confession about eating, especially if it is coming from a fitness trainer. This is not easy for me but it is a part of getting me back on track with my eating habits. Please do not get me wrong. This is not a list of forbidden foods. As long as you (or I) are consuming these food items in moderation and/or – in some cases – no more than once a week on average, there should not be an issue.

My first eating confession: Here are some of those food items I have been overindulging in:
1. Pastries
2. Pizza
3. Other sweets such as marschmellow in a jar
4. Jellies and Marmalade
5. Peanut butter
6. Cheese
7. Hamburger
8. Ice cream
9. Flavored, sugary drinks, including juices

My second eating confession: I am eating too much and my belt is getting too tight. Of course, the easy way to fix this would be to buy pants that fit the bigger waistline. I am not taking that road!

Enough! I made up my mind to start writing down what I eat and how much I eat. I decided to grab a sheet of paper and write down everything I consume, starting Tuesday, August 10, 2010.

Here are the results:

Oatmeal, 1/2 cup, 150 cal.
Raisins, 1/3 cub, 130 cal.
Fax seeds, ground, 2 tbs, 120 cal.
Blueberries, 3/4 cup, 70 cal.
Slim fast, 1 scoop, 110 cal.
Watermelon, 2 cups, 120 cal.
Brown rice, 1 1/2 cups, 300 cal.
Tomato sauce, 1 cup, 150 cal.
Olive oil, 1 tbs, 120 cal.
Banana, 2, 220 cal.
Coffee, 2 cups, 80 cal.
Brown rice, 1 cup, 218 cal.
Milk, low-fat, 1 cup, 110 cal.
Water, 15 cups, 0 cal.

My total caloric intake was 1,898 calorie.

For the purposes of weight loss, based on my age (59) and activity level, that is a good number. I could get it down to around 1,500 calories to expedite the weight loss process.

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Your Three-Step Action Plan

1. Acknowledge and recognize that there is a problem.

I noticed that my “deviant” eating habits had become a lifestyle. This one appears to be easy to accomplish. It is easy because there is no action required other than acknowledgement and recognition of eating too many bad food choices and too much food. As Albert Einstein once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” However, there is more to this. If we are acknowledging and recognizing the problem with the forethought that no action is required, it is bogus and does not count. It is not genuine. Motives do matter and the motive with forethought that no action is required will not bring about the positive change you are looking for.

2. Decide when and how you are going to take action.

As I jokingly but seriously mention during my fitness training session, there are only two things you need to control, your right and your left hand. Because that is how the food and drink you are consuming gets into your body. I needed to reduce consumption of food and improve the quality. I decided on August 9, 2010 in the evening that when I wake up in the morning, I will start writing down everything I consume. What happened to the consumption or overconsumption of all the food items mentioned in my confession list? As soon as I started to write down and measure my intake of food, I also was monitoring quantity and quality.

3. Take action.

I woke up the next morning, grabbed a pen and paper and started noting everything I ate and drank. I added some additional tools for the task, measuring cups and spoons. Instead of two tablespoons of olive oil on my brown rice dish, I only used one. Instead of 2 cups of cooked rice, I now used the measuring cup added one cup. I then increased amount the very low vegetables and measured 3/2 cup of black beans instead of the usual one plus cup. I significantly reduced the calories while increasing the quality. When eating out, the strategy changes. I already know the portions sizes are too big and the menu will tempt me with many choices. I need to decide before I set foot into the restaurant to be portion size conscious and watch the fat and sugar intake. If I ordering a full meal, I need to have half of it placed in a doggy bag before it gets to my table.

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