Blah, blah, blah

As we approach the end of the month, the media is full of advice on how to keep your resolution to lose weight.Blah, blah, blah. This clip tells you to write down what you eat, get exercise, eat right, and weigh yourself once a week.

Here's my non-professional advice:

1. Eat right. This means no ice cream, french fries, pie, cake, donuts, candy, chips, fried food, or anything snack with more than 5 g of fat or 200 calories except on special occasions. And special occasions do not happen every day. Also, eat a piece of fruit or a serving of vegetables with every meal. Have an apple as a snack, instead of a bag of chips. etc. If you must go to fast food, pay attention to those evil calorie count signs and get a healthy option and not a double bacon cheeseburger, large fries and a large soda. How about a regular burger with an apple and a bottle of water? Plan your snacks by bringing them with you. Don't over complicate things with fancy diets unless you can cook.

2. Get moving. Go to the gym, go for a walk, yoga, zumba, weight training, bike riding, skiing, snow boarding, roller blading, surfing, Just move your butt. No excuses. No drive throughs - park and walk into the bank, restaurant or whatever unless you have three screaming small children in your car. (If you do have three small children you are probably running non stop after them but take them to the playground and run around with them - that counts too.)

3. Its not a diet its a life style change. A diet implies a short term effort. A life style change is permanent. You didn't get fat in six weeks so you won't get skinny in six weeks. Be realistic. Change your eating habits and expect to lose a pound or two a week or 5-8 lbs a month for a permanent change.

4. Weigh yourself once a week at most. If you weigh yourself every day you are on the perpetual yoyo. You lost a pound so you celebrate and eat a pizza. You gain a pound and you are depressed so you eat a pint of ice cream.

Here at our house we are trying to lose weight. I had a banana for breakfast and will go to the gym and come home and have egg beaters for a second breakfast. (I don't have time for breakfast first because I snoozed after the alarm.) Lunch will be a turkey sandwich and maybe some pretzels and an orange. Dinner is asparagus and chicken or something in a crustless quiche, omelet, or souffle (which are all the basically the same ingredients but cooked differently) and a salad. I might have some crackers for a snack this afternoon too. And maybe some wine with dinner. I am not expecting miracles from my scale but I am trying.

So blah, blah, blah. Go figure out your healthy plan and start moving to meet your resolutions.