Weight No
More - 10 Surefire Diet Boosters
From
eDiets - The online diet, fitness, and healthy living resource
If you want assistance with a legal matter,
you seek out a lawyer. If you need work on your teeth, you turn to a dentist.
If you crave the secrets of cooking healthy and losing weight, doesn’t it
make sense to trust a health-conscious kitchen whiz who’s dropped 80
pounds by practicing what she preaches?
It makes perfect sense.
Chef Kathleen Daelemans has walked in your
shoes. It wasn’t that long ago the host of Food Network’s Cooking
Thin show wore a size 22 and tipped the scales at 205 pounds. Like many of
us, it was a love of food and a lack of discipline that led to weight woes.
Crafting a healthy diet -- and sticking to
it -- was difficult for Kathleen. The renowned chef/author spent much of her
workday in the kitchen.
For far too long, Kathleen, 39, had been
her own best customer. More times than she cared to count, she'd fallen for fad
diets and gimmicky quick fixes that failed to provide long-term results. It
wasn’t until she landed a gig at one of the world’s most luxurious
spas that Kathleen’s hand was forced. Change was no longer an option -- it
was a necessity.
In her new role as spa chef, Kathleen
needed to be the picture of good health. That meant shedding those extra pounds
once and for all while learning to craft healthy new recipes. Eating balanced
meals and getting plenty of exercise soon became the norm.
If you’ve caught her weekly cooking
show, you’ve seen the new and improved Kathleen.
“I still have to stay at a certain
weight for production,” Kathleen, who's a whopping 80 pounds lighter,
tells eDiets. “I definitely yo-yo, but now it’s between 5 and 7
pounds, not 50 and 70 pounds. When I have to get reconnected, the first thing I
do is reach out to a support system, whether it’s someone I used to work
out with, or a trainer, or a friend with whom I ride bikes.
“Or I go on the Cooking Thin forum and
initiate conversation with people to get support because I know I’m going
to need it to get started and motivated. You have to have someone there to get
you back on track.”
In Cooking
Thin With Chef Kathleen (Houghton Mifflin), the hostess with the
mostest healthy recipes shares 200 signature dishes and plenty of sides of diet
knowledge. Shes transformed comfort foods like meatloaf and lasagna into
great-tasting, low-fat fare.
But even healthy food can lead to weight
woes if you don't curb an unhealthy appetite.
“Sometimes I have to test five or six
recipes in a day," Kathleen says. "That’s a lot of tasting and you have to
factor tasting in. I can’t afford to eat that many calories. I have to
take more than one or two bites to make sure each recipe is right. I have to
taste them hot, cold or at room temperature. It’s challenging. Sometimes I
have to sneak in extra workouts. I have to balance things.”
For Kathleen, the key to successful dieting
has been setting realistic goals. She never deprived herself or concocted some
wild workout regimen. She made getting healthy more a reward than a punishment.
It’s the mindset that makes the difference, she says.
“People don’t set realistic goals
and they get discouraged," Kathleen notes. "A lot of times people create an
unrealistic program for themselves. They set too many restrictions and get into
an all-or-nothing mindset. They think they can’t have chocolate or
dessert. They think they have to do five hours of high-impact cardio a week. It
shouldn’t be a radical approach... you don’t want a quick fix. You
want to be able to stick with this for life.
“Set yourself up for success. Are you
keeping yourself fat by creating an environment where there are chips, dip and
mayo that you can’t resist? Have you created a fertile environment to
fail? Make it just as easy to succeed as it is to eat unhealthy.”
Without further ado, here are 10 strategies
that helped Kathleen lose close to 40 percent of her body weight.
1. Turn to friends. Get a supporting
cast. This isnt a one-man (or one-woman) show. Jog with your mate. Youd be
surprised how fast time will fly. Bond with your fellow Jazzercisers -- they
can provide you with survival tips. Befriend the butcher. Hell help you keep
your meats lean. Exchange healthy recipes with the in-laws. Get support
wherever you can. Including everyone in your journey to wellness will only make
it easier. Day-to-day mini-exchanges are essential for good health survival.
2. Open your eyes. Get support from
unlikely sources. Whether its someone whos overcoming a physical handicap or
someone whos beat the odds in another way, draw from their strength. If that
person can prevail with a positive attitude, you have no excuse for fleeing
your responsibilities and commitments to good health.
3. Learn new tricks. Just because
you think you know all there is to know about good health, doesnt mean you do.
Kathleen derived expert insight from a personal trainer. Even though she had
been working out steadily for two years, she still learned new exercises, how
to use gym equipment safely, how to achieve and maintain proper form, and how
to get maximum results. She also learned how to visualize, concentrate, and
focus on fitness goals.
4. Strip away the final layer of
excuses. Quit letting excuses take up space in your head. Say your goodbyes
and move on. No stress -- no matter how intense it may be -- is a reason to
abandon your health. You need your body to work for you, not against you. No
one is taking anything away from you. No one is telling you that you cant enjoy
all the same foods youve always enjoyed. You still get to enjoy every holiday,
every family picnic, date nights, and all the same food and social occasions
you have. Moderate, dont eliminate. When it comes to exercise, put on your
thinking cap and make it fun. Mall walking, window shopping and zoo excursions
count, too.
5. Anticipate land mines. Maybe you
cant break away from the school or the office to get a healthy meal. Although
these are stressful and unpleasant inconveniences, they arent good enough
reasons to eat from the vending machine. Theres no excuse for indulging in
unhealthy food when youve had plenty of time to plan ahead.
6. Set small goals. Think of your
exercise program as a giant heart-shaped box of chocolates. Each chocolate
represents a higher-for-you level of exercise. A cherry-filled chocolate means
five extra minutes of cardio, dark chocolate coconut squares represent the
introduction of weight training. Pecan clusters signal interval training, mocha
crams indicate a total abdominal workout, rum nougats say triceps-biceps day,
chocolate-covered peanuts equal push-ups and dark chocolate truffles say sign
up for the class. Gorge your way through half the box of chocolates on the
first day and your workout routine will be exhausting. Take it easy. Have one
chocolate every few days or so. Instead of setting impossible exercise goals,
set your sights a little closer to home.
7. Start today. Today is the
tomorrow you worried about yesterday. Too tired you say? Hmm... when havent you
been too tired? If we had to wait until we felt refreshed, relaxed, full of
energy, vim and vigor, wed all be walking around in our pajamas. Too tired is a
flimsy excuse and you know it. No time? You can find 20 minutes. Theres a lot
of 20-minute stretches you waste. Take two 10-minute walks, or march in place
during the evening news. If you dont have the proper shoes, find your most
comfortable pair until you can get to a store and get the right kind. The
point: to move and to prove to yourself that you can get going. You really do
have it in you.
8. Come up with an exercise plan.
Youre not house hunting or choosing a babys name. Walk or dont walk. Workout
indoors or outdoors. Swim... hike... cycle... practice tae kwon do... or even
do si do. But please do something! Youll feel better. Youre never going to
ditch your sluggardly ways unless you make a move. You can alter your exercise
plan any time you want.
9. The little things. Youll be able
to wear your wedding ring again, your socks wont make marks around your ankles,
youll be able to trade the expansion band on your wristwatch for something more
fashionable, and you wont look like youre storing acorns for winter in your
cheeks. These are the little things. Looking good in your skinny jeans is just
a bonus. This is about good health. Feeling good in your jeans is much more
important. Youll look your best when you feel your best. When you feel
your best, youll stop obsessing over how you look because you wont care
anymore.
10. Access medical information. Rely
on the pros, access the information theyve collected, and utilize all the great
tools out there. Take charge. Determine your destiny. Health professionals are
at your fingertips 24 hours a day. All you have to do is call on them. And lots
of times you dont even have to leave the house. Everything starts and ends with
your physician. The internet is loaded with informational websites. |
