fbpx

Diet tips

How a Treat Affects Weight Loss

Ask yourself:

  1. What is your favourite treat and how often do you indulge in a treat?
  2. Do you ever supply others (kids, workmates, parents etc) with a treat?
  3. Is there someone who often tempts you with a treat?

Treats in the past were a food-based way to celebrate special occasions and were usually eaten in small amounts, like a small cup cake or a cookie or a packet of chips. Just one, and only for very special occasions.

These days we seem to confuse treats with snacks and it’s not unusual for many people to reward themselves (or even worse their children) with a daily treat (or two).

A snack is a small, healthy portion of nutritious food or drink that has the ideal ingredients (protein) to keep you satiated between meals. Ideally, a snack should contain protein, be lower in calories, sugar, fat and carbs and should not spike your blood sugar. Smart snacks can also help curb appetite to prevent overeating at the next meal. They can help provide extra nutrition if unable to eat full meals (i.e. due to an illness).

A treat on the other hand might include cookies, chips, soda, lollies, cakes – all high in sugar, calories and carbs with little or no nutritional value. Sugary snacks will cause blood sugar to spike followed shortly after by crashing and causing low blood sugar which then leads to increased hunger and fatigue. 

Excess calories from treats lead to weight gain, especially if they have a combination of processed carbs, sugar and fried in oil (eg: a doughnut). Regular treats consumption result in low nutrients but high calorie daily diet… A roller coaster of the worse kind.

A little sweet “treat” may be very tempting. However, if you are trying to lose weight, the guilt which often follows could be counterproductive. How do you normally feel after you have had a treat or two? 

On top of this, give some thought to how you might “undo” the damage. Even a small “treat” can affect your hormones and have a negative impact on your weight loss success. Increasing exercise for the next few days may make you feel better, and less bloated. 

Check out how much extra exercise you need to do to counter a treat:

It is worthwhile asking yourself why you feel the need to have a treat. Let’s explore some reasons why people find themselves having treats.

  1. Often used as a reward, perhaps you’ve had a busy day or week. Why not find a non-food option that gives you satisfaction for a job well done?
  2. If it has become a habit then find a new healthy habit, perhaps a walk around the block?
  3. Hunger or thirst can induce the need for a treat. Ensure a water bottle and pre-prepared protein snacks with you at all times.
  4. Hunger for something sweet or salty? This may be because you did not have a complete meal with adequate protein earlier, or perhaps you need to slightly increase your protein intake at each meal.
  5. Skipping meals because you’re busy and then finding you’re hungry before your next meal will often find you picking whatever is in the cupboard or fridge. Ensure your fridge and pantry are stocked with cold meats, cheese, Greek yoghurt, hard boiled eggs, nuts, seeds, and low carb fruits and vegetables to grab quickly.
  6. By not allowing snack foods into your home or office will mean they are not in easy reach and readily available.
  7. Distraction or boredom can result in mindless eating. If you find yourself going there, practice some breathing or meditation or remove yourself from your current environment.
  8. Emotional eating can be triggered by stress or feelings of sadness or loneliness. Call a friend or family member, take a walk outdoors, indulge in an activity like gardening or dancing to relieve built up tension.
  9. Are there certain times of the day that you find yourself snacking? If so, take a mental note and schedule an appointment or activity to keep yourself busy and engaged until the trigger goes away. Review the protein content of the previous main meal.
  10. Do you find some environments that look and smell good set you off to want a treat? Cakes, pastry and chocolate shops are some that come to mind. Never go there when you’re hungry, tired or stressed.
  11. Having a treat at a social function would be tempting for most people. You may also find that a particular friend or group of friends prompt you to eat too many treats. You may also find that you need someone else to blame if you overindulge. If this is you, then you probably need to find other ways besides eating to enjoy each other’s company. The likelihood of having a treat is higher if it is provided free.
  12. Procrastination or avoiding doing something or meeting a deadline can become a pathway to having a treat. Try a stretch, walk up and down stairs, meditate, walk around the block for 5-10 mins and then come back and get on with your work.

Too many treats can reduce natural hunger at mealtimes and cause skipping an entire nutritious meal, as well as increasing total calories for the day. 

At Dietflex we have a 1-2-3 rule when it comes to treats. 

  1. Having one treat a week may slow your weight loss, but you might still lose weight.
  2. Having two treats a week will probably stop your weight loss, and you may put on weight.
  3. Having three or more treats a week will increase your weight.

Besides weight loss and weight management, if you want or need to keep your blood sugar levels low, have better focus, mood and energy, feel satiated, and eat foods that fuel your body, then perhaps restricting, minimizing or eliminating treat foods and drinks may be what you need to do.

For more information or help with losing weight fill out the form below and one of our Dietflex Health Coaches will be in touch.

Start Healthier Family Easter Traditions!

Children anticipate the arrival of the Easter Bunny with as much glee as they do Santa at Christmas. While Santa usually brings an abundance of toys, the Easter Bunny brings chocolate. Mountains of it.

If the sugar from all that chocolate was removed and placed in a bowl, no parent would allow their kids to eat it all.

A couple of Easter eggs as a treat won’t cause too much of a problem, but many people buy and give and eat as though more is better. In the case of all the sugar in Easter eggs, more is definitely not better.

Traditions are an important aspect of family life. We all remember important (or fun) times from our childhood that were repeated year after year. This Easter, take some small steps toward implementing something new that could become your family’s tradition.

How do you honour and reinforce family traditions, keep the kids happy, and look after their health? Here are some ideas:

  1. Give the kids one or two eggs (not those the size of a football) and a well-chosen gift.
  2. Do a treasure hunt with little sparkly stickers and a few tiny chocolate eggs rather than the huge chocolate rampage.
  3. Prepare an Easter-themed breakfast – poached eggs with ‘rabbit food’ such as spinach, carrot, capsicum and tomatoes.
  4. Make hand-painted eggs: have a look at Pinterest for some gorgeous ideas.
  5. Make your own hot cross buns: we have a fabulous recipe on our Facebook page.
  6. The kids could help with making some Easter eggs. Mix together equal quantities of frozen fruit and coconut milk in a blender, then transfer into small round- or egg-shaped molds and freeze for two hours. Take the eggs from the freezer and use a spoon to dip each egg into a mix of 2 parts melted dark chocolate chips and 1 part cream and freeze in a storage container until you’re ready to serve them.
  7. Entertain family and friends during the Easter break with real food, not chocolate and hot cross buns – it’s the socialising that’s more important than the specific foods, right?

Start some new traditions this year that will have you and the kids involved in the planning and preparation. You’ll all be happier and healthier for the experience.

The 5 steps to achieving your best weight

Do you have the belief that starting a weight loss program might be a struggle?

If you do, it may be based upon your past experiences. There may be many years of attempted starts, never being at or getting to a weight that you feel comfortable with and remarks like “You’ve just got big bones.” are simply not true or helpful.

To be at your best weight and health is an outcome that is achievable for everyone, even you – regardless of where you are coming from. 

It does require work, dedication, focus, change, adjustment and much more, however we’d like to add that we have worked with so many people over the years who have embarked on this journey and achieved success. 

Their outcomes are inspirational and personal. The one thing they say to us when asked what they would say to other people who may be thinking of starting the Dietflex program, 

“Just get started, you won’t regret it.”

 OK you are ready to start losing weight. To ensure that you achieve success these 5 steps will give you some ideas of what to expect and include in your planning. The 5 steps can relate to any goal you have set yourself, but this article relates to losing weight.

1. Choose a weight loss program that actually works. 

It may surprise you that we NEVER say “Just eat less and exercise more.” The right plan will be personalised for your body and offer a level of support that goes beyond you hitting your goal weight. It should help you lose weight without experiencing hunger.

If you choose the wrong program and apply the next 4 steps, you’ll come away even more frustrated. 

2. Commitment – People fail through lack of commitment, not lack of desire. 

Unless you are fully committed you will not achieve your goal. 

Let’s say that your goal is to lose 5 kilos by 1 September. To implement and execute requires finding a process that works for you. This process requires planning what foods and drinks you will allow yourself and what exercise you will do and when. Other considerations may include sleep habits, shopping and cooking, and meal prepping. 

You also need to put yourself FIRST and then let go of the need to feel like you must like it – just get on with it. If you think that telling people will help you stay committed then do it, but if that’s not you, don’t tell anyone. 

When it’s time to get started, don’t forget to add small rewards for yourself along the way. Our program sets 5 goal posts at every 20% of your weight loss goal.

3. Courage – especially emotional courage is often hard to find. 

Many people suffer from a lack of faith in themselves. When doubt sets it, remind yourself why you started on this journey. 

If you get up each day and show up fully, this will give you the courage and hope to focus on your goal, and never give up. Sure, you will have slip-ups along the way, but make it only one step back before you’re moving forward again.

If you suffer from perfectionism you may need to learn to go with the flow. Waiting for the perfect time is NEVER going to happen and leads to procrastination. Reducing choices may help as it declutters your mind and allows clarity. We’ll definitely suggest that you declutter your pantry, getting rid of all foods not on your plan, and fill your fridge with everything that is on your plan.

Sharing your goal with a friend or family member, working out in a safe environment, or practicing some meditation or mindfulness may take the edges off going it alone – which may help with your resilience. Having small wins to celebrate along the journey will also add to your courage.

4. Capacity – you may already have a busy schedule and not a lot of time available but losing weight should not require a lot of time. 

Many of our members we see once or twice a week. By learning new skills like pre-planning shopping, meal prep and cooking, will give you a sense of control and may even save you time. Exercise should not take more than 30 mins a session, mix it up with cardio, resistance and activity or movement, and have it scheduled in your default weekly diary.

Having a coach or buddy to keep you accountable and help with creating new successful habits will increase your capacity to take on more challenges. Focus on small victories and you’ll be surprised at how much you can increase your capacity to learn new skills.

Keeping it simple is a great way to increase your capacity. Many people don’t feel confident to cook but learning some basic cooking skills, like making an omelette or scrambled eggs, bolognaise sauce (no pasta) or cooking a piece of meat and making a salad, is a great start.

Finding a program where you don’t have to count calories or points is a bonus. 

5. Confidence – comes from making the commitment, having the courage to then take action and implement to your capacity. Small changes make BIG results.

With confidence comes a sense of control. Knowing what you need to do, knowing how your body reacts when you eat different foods, how it responds to different types of activity, how journaling gives you focus and helps you stick to your goal. You’ll also learn that it is much easier to say No.

Confidence also gives you the capacity to want to learn more. It could be increasing your cooking and meal prep skills, meeting, and socialising with like-minded people, or experimenting with different exercise options.

Feeling empowered. Feeling in control. Enjoying who you are. Enjoying the choice of taking on a challenge – and perhaps even feeling a little uncomfortable!!!!

You may have a history of trying numerous programs and never achieving the results you were after, so perhaps now it’s time to get off this treadmill!!

Thanks for reading.

To sign up for a free consultation with us please follow this link

How to avoid 13 common weight loss mistakes

We’ve seen all sorts of factors, but there are 13 common mistakes that people make that we would like to share with you.

Doing “your version” of a plan.

Commit to a proven program and stick to it. Making changes, even if they seem minor, can mess up the nutrient balance of the program and may affect your body’s ability to release stored fat.

Having a treat or cheat day.

Some people can get away with having the occasional splurge, but most can’t. It’s much better to decide that you are developing a new eating pattern that you can continue for life, rather than thinking about deprivation and rewards. It works better for your body and your mind.

Snacks that have too little protein and too many calories.

This is especially true if you snack on nuts or fruit. While each of these is very different nutritionally, they all have the same problem in that they are low in protein and easy to overeat. If you snack on these foods, consider having them in very small amounts together with some protein.

Too many sweeteners.

Whether they’re natural or artificial, all sweeteners help you retain your desire for sweet foods. They also signal the brain to expect an influx of calories, which can result in hormonal responses that cause over-eating to cater to the brain’s expectation, or increased fat storage, or both.

Eating because “It’s time”.

Part of successful weight maintenance is the ability to understand the body’s true hunger signals. Often people eat when they’re not hungry: they might be bored, with others who are eating, lured by temptation, or the clock says it’s time to eat (habit). It’s far better to be responsive to the body’s cues rather than social cues, and it’s a skill that needs to be learned. Sometimes the cue to eat a meal or snack is triggered by some daily event (ie the news on TV or radio), not your body’s need for food.

Eating too little.

Many people think that minimising their food intake will lead to weight loss. It certainly can (as is obvious in the TV series Survivor), but for most people semi-starvation slows the metabolic rate which stops weight loss. Drastic quick weight loss can trigger loss of lean metabolically-active tissue, so these people end up “skinny fat”. Then as soon as you go back to normal eating you’ll gain weight and often more than you had lost.

You started with unrealistic expectations.

Your neighbour lost 20kg in 10 weeks, so surely you can do the same, right? Actually, not even close. Most people need to aim for healthy weight loss of about half a kilo per week, as long as they’re following their program fully. Some people can lose a lot in the first week and expect that to continue, but they don’t realise that the initial weight is usually the release of retained fluid and not stored fat. Understanding this can help in developing realistic expectations.

Lack of sleep.

Poor quality of insufficient sleep triggers hormones that slow weight loss. Chronic poor sleep can stop weight loss, so it’s important when losing weight to develop strategies to improve sleep.

High stress.

Like poor sleep, chronic stress causes the release of hormones like cortisol that stop weight loss. Learning how to deal with life’s stressful situations is essential, albeit difficult. Getting help from a professional can be worthwhile.

Processed foods.

The label might indicate that the food is suitable (organic, natural, no added sugar, gluten-free, vegan friendly etc) but this does not mean it suits your body. A lot of processed foods have low-quality ingredients, are low in quality protein and may not be nutritionally sound. Ditch the processed foods and choose fresh is best.

Alcohol.

It might be lovely to sit down and enjoy a glass of wine or your favourite drink, but it never does any favours for your weight loss progress. Alcohol can’t be stored in the body, so the time it takes your body to eliminate the alcohol is time that your body is not metabolising stored fat.

Drinking juice.

Where did the idea that we need to drink juice at breakfast come from? For many it has become ‘normal’ to drink juices and smoothies as a healthy snack or meal option. In reality, juice is just a drink of flavoured sugar with no fibre. Think of it this way: it takes perhaps three to four oranges to squeeze a glass of juice, which is very easy to drink along with your breakfast. Imagine instead eating those three or four oranges with your breakfast! They would contain the same calories, but with a whole lot more filling due to the fibre. The fibre helps slow the absorption of sugar into the blood stream, so you get full and stay full for much longer. Most of us would not even contemplate eating three or four oranges in one sitting!!

Cheating, and not being honest with yourself.

You may think you can get away with eating something you know is unwise, especially if nobody is there to see you do it. You just keep quiet about it, hide the evidence, and never say anything. While you might get away with it, your body knows.

If you’re getting frustrated with your progress, check if you’re making any of these mistakes.

Want to learn more about how the dietflex program can help you achieve your weight & health goals? Register for a free consultation HERE

Request a Consult

We run over 30 classes every week – JOIN IN