Weigh Less By Eating More

Are you like me? When you decide to watch your weight all you seem to do is watch it rise? It seems to me that the more I worry about my weight and connect it to deprivation, the more I want to eat. So, I quit worrying about it and watching it and slowly began changing my eating habits several months ago. It's been working, not as quickly as I might like but it is working.

Because of this, I really enjoyed the post written by Tommy Galan, a guest poster on Dumb Little Man last week.  He likens our bodies to fuel tanks and it's performance depends on what we put into it, even providing 5 common sense tips to help you achieve your goal:

• Fill your tank with 70% water rich foods like fruits and vegetables

• It’s too complicated to count all your food during the day, so look at each meal individually. Always fill your plate with a proportion of about three-quarters vegetables to whatever else you want to eat. Eat delicious, sweet fruits instead of deserts made of processed sugar. For breakfast, choose to fill your omelets with spinach. We are made almost entirely of water, so gift yourself the gift of eating as much water rich foods as you like.

• Eating vegetables and fruits until the cows come home isn’t always the most filling fare, so load up on high fiber and whole grain foods such as bulgar, quinoa and spelt. A bunch of great companies make pasta, bread and other products from whole grains so that you can eat more, increase your fiber and not even realize that you have reduced your intake of processed flours.

• Third, eat more beans, legumes and nuts. They make great snacks, chili and stir-frys. Like high fiber grains, you will be nice and full from a diet rich in beans and nuts. Don’t be afraid to check out soy products too. Almost anything can be made from the soybean, and soy products are tastier than ever.

• Fourth, drink more water, and flavor it with lemon, lime, or juice. Add your favorite juice to seltzer. Most people consume a huge amount of their daily calories through fluids. Drinking water, seltzer and sugar-free beverages like unsweetened iced-tea will help flush your body and make it easier to digest.

• Finally, don’t beat yourself up over eating food that you like such as meat, dairy or sweets, as long as you treat those items as delicacies that come once the tank is filled with quality fuel. When you eat meats or dairy, just make sure your plate is filled with green leafy vegetables, and a serving of high fiber whole grains.

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