That's Fit

Even with the best of intentions, as well as an admirable amount of effort, the weight sometimes doesn't come off!! Try as you might to get the needle on that scale to budge even the slightest bit, sometimes it's just not having it. This is especially true for people who have already lost quite a bit of weight and are now trying to take off those last ten pounds or so.

To help you shed those stubborn extra pounds, here is a quick tip from an article titled "Scale Stuck?", which appears in this month's edition of Self magazine. I'll be posting one of them a day for the next 10 days.

Hopefully these tips will help you figure out what's causing those pounds to stick around.

Quick Tip #9

Diet Flub: You have too many food options - When you're surrounded by a wide array of foods, your appetite will suddenly seem bigger. This isn't a scientific fact, of course, merely an astute observation. Don't agree? Think about the last time you ate at a buffet style restaurant. Did you eat more than you usually do? Probably. This same logic applies for your kitchen. If your refrigerator is stuffed to its limits with an assortment of foods (especially snack foods), you'll snack more than if you had fewer options from which to choose. According to the article in Self magazine, a study published in the journal Eating Behaviors validates this, stating that dieters who were allowed to eat whatever snack they wanted consumed more calories each week than those who were restricted to one type.

Fix It: Keep one splurge item in the house at a time. Whatever it is you crave the most, go for it -- but only it. For example, if your weakness happens to be Reese's peanut butter cups, avoid having potato chips, cookies, and brownies lying around, too. Chances are, you'll soon grow a bit tired of eating the peanut butter cups all the time, making you less likely to reach for them when you have an urge to nosh. Having other options, such as the aforementioned brownies and cookies, provide you with unhealthy alternatives. As for eating out, your best bet is to avoid buffets altogether, for the wide variety of food choices tend to lead to overindulgence.

Now that I'm on this healthy eating kick, I get a little worried about what I'll eat at food-filled events. I got lucky the other night at a neighbor's Halloween party -- turkey chili and fruit salad were on the menu, and I got to fill up on both of these nutritious treats. But what will I do when faced with a more questionable menu? Discovery Health has some answers.

• At birthday parties, experts say we need to learn to enjoy ourselves without going overboard. They invite us to go for the gusto and have a piece of cake with ice cream. They key is eating slowly and savoring the experience. A good idea: Try putting your fork down at least three times and taking 10 breaths between bites.

• When eating out, remember that restaurant portions are typically way too big. Before you dive into your starchy items (rice, pasta, potato), cut it by one-third to one-half and eat only what remains.

I've never been on a cruise, but I imagine going to one would be like visiting an all-inclusive resort, where the buffets and bars are always well-stocked and the entertainment flows just as much as a booze. One thing I know about all-inclusive resorts is that dieting, or even maintaining your weight is next to impossible. At least, if you're will-power-less like I am.

The reason I'm talking cruises is Fitsugar has posted some suggestions on how to keep from de-railing your diet while on a cruise, like:

• Eat 5 to 6 small meals a day, instead of 3 huge ones
• At a buffet, fill your plate with healthy things like salad first and hopefully there won't be room for the unhealthy stuff by the time you get to it.
  
• Drink lots of water
• Sign up for activities, especially the fitness classes.

How do you stay fit on a cruise?

While buffets are tempting because of the low cost bargains and all you can eat amounts, ordering food from a menu can be much safer to eat. Other common sense rules to follow when going into a restaurant is to look at the overall cleanliness of the establishment and the hygiene of the people working there and that should give you a clue that foods are being handled properly and things are safe to eat. If you are in a state where health inspection grades have to be publicly displayed, be sure to check out their last inspection grade. A low score means it might not be that safe to eat there.

Unlike menu ordered food being prepared per order and coming out hot and fresh, buffets have foods resting in steam tables, ice baths, or salad bars. If improperly tended, these buffet stations can allow disease causing bacteria and viruses to flourish. Customers can come into contact with food on buffets including unattended children that might be tempted to poke a finger into the cake. And not to put down children, I have witnessed many an adult picking up food with their fingers instead of tongs or sneezing and coughing over the food. Pay attention to the warning signs that food is being neglected if you see dried out chicken or browned wilted salad. Another key thing to think about is if you are trying to diet and lose weight it is easier to stay on plan if you order from a menu. If you eat from a buffet, you will tend to over eat and break away from your diet plan.