Small Changes To Changes on the Scale

By: Cathy Wilson

This is another installment in our series of how little changes can add up to weight loss success. Just as a huge, luxury cruise ship turns in small increments to make an adjustment, so can you. One day you don't eat a bag of cookies for dinner and then the next day expect to be satisfied eating nothing but vegetables. Extremes don't work when it comes to making changes in your diet. Make small changes and adjustments to achieve a u-turn in your diet. As you accomplish one small change, add another successfully, and another, etc., you'll find yourself moving forward with positive momentum. It is more than doable and before you know it, all these small changes equal to big success in your weight loss goals.

1. Use flavorings instead of swimming in fat. Butter, cream sauces, sugary sauces tend to encourage the mentality of the more the better. Many of my clients use these fat-ridden choices as pools that the food swims in rather than for flavoring. Use flavorings such as hot sauce, salsa, and Cajun seasonings. To keep your digestion and metabolism fires burning, these seasonings provide flavor without the fat and fewer calories. Adjust your taste buds to flavorings rather than pools of fat.

2. Stairs as exercise equipment. Who needs expensive exercise equipment or gym memberships? For only 10 minutes a day, walking up and down stairs will make a tremendous difference. For a 15-minute work break, you can spend only 10 minutes and have 5 to spare! According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), it takes only 10 minutes a day to help you lose as much as 10 pounds a year. 10 minutes a day for 10 pounds a year.

3. Skip e-mail or phone calls and walk it. The convenience of e-mail and telephone have made us even more sedentary. Are you stuck at a desk all day? Get up and walk around the office or your home for five minutes per day for every two hours. A brisk five-minute walk every two hours will equal an extra 20-minute walk by the end of the day. How easy is that? An added benefit is that it will make you less likely to find yourself eating out of the vending machine out of boredom.

4. Balance your starch choice with vegetables. At your next meal, check out the proportion of your starch to your vegetables. If you're like most dieters, your carbohydrate choice far is larger your vegetables. To avoid a carbohydrate overload, eat an equal size portion of starch food choice to your vegetable choice. High fiber vegetables will satisfy your hunger before you overindulge in starchy foods.

5. To be smaller, order small. When you order a food item, order the small size. Order the smallest portion of everything. Jumbo, giant, super size, the bigger is better mentality do not result in a body size small. If you're ordering a submarine sandwich, order the 6-inch rather than the 12 incher. We tend to each what's in front of us even though we'd be satisfied on less. Think small to be small.

6. Drive past the drive thru. If you're running short of time or just plain don't feel like cooking, have a stash of healthy frozen dinners that have been created for weight loss. If you have problems with evening eating, you can use frozen dinners as well. Many of us tend to eat more in the evening than in the morning. An easy way to keep your evening eating and dinner meal is to buy a pre-portioned meal. You can supplement with vegetables and fruit.

It isn't necessary to make big changes all at once to lose weight. Actually, smaller changes tend to build on the successes of each other. We're less to feel overwhelmed by all the differences in our lives and give up. When you build a brick house, it is built a brick at a time. Build your own sturdy, solid foundation for weight loss, built one small change at a time.

Cathy Wilson is a weight loss life coach. Cathy lost 147 pounds six years ago. Her passion is helping clients achieve their weight loss and life goals. Cathy works with clients to create a weight loss life plan that is customized to each client. Cathy is a member of the International Coaching Federation, International Association of Coaches, and Obesity Action Coalition. Visit Cathy's website: http://www.LoseWeightFindLife.com