Holly Mosier

Once stress is under control, the next step is to modify your eating.

Step One:

Calculate Your Daily Calories Needed to Reach Your Goal Weight:

First, determine what your goal weight is. Chose a weight at which you feel happy and comfortable in your body and is medically sound and healthy.

Next, let’s set the date when you want to reach your goal. My rule of thumb is to lose one to two pounds per week. If I want to lose 15 pounds, I would set a goal of two to three months. If I want to lose 50 pounds, I would set my goal between six to 11 months (depending on whether I wanted to aim for losing one pound per week or two). That may seem like a long time, but remember, this is not a crash diet, it is a lifestyle change, and it must be realistic and easily manageable for your life or it will not be permanent. And a multitude of studies have confirmed that this slow and steady approach is by far the most successful for permanent weight loss.

Now that that you have your goal weight and target date to reach it, click here to find out how many calories you can eat each day to reach your goal. Make sure to accurately assess your activity level (sedentary, light activity, moderate activity, very active). For example, I work out about an hour a day, six days per week. Based on this, I check the box for “Moderate Activity.”

Step Two:

Accurately and Consistently Calculate and Keep a Journal of the Calories You Eat Each Day:

This is a critical step and one that many of us neglect. In my book, you will see that when I truthfully and accurately wrote down everything I was eating (including the portion size), much to my surprise I was eating a whopping 800 -1,000 calories more each day than I thought. It only takes an extra 100 calories per day to gain 10 pounds in a year, so you see why this step is critical. The key here is to be honest about the amount of food you are eating and writing it down in a food journal.

To figure out the number of calories you are eating, get in the habit of reviewing the “Nutrition Information” label on the food you eat. Make sure to check the “serving size” as there may be two (or more) servings for the calories listed. If there is no nutrition label, or it is a fresh food, you can still calculate the calories by checking a calorie database. I like www.calorieking.com and www.calorie-count.com (You do not have to be a member to use their food database). If you use these sites, be sure to identify your correct serving size. Scanning labels may sound time consuming, but once you’ve done this for a few days, you will be a nutritional information label wiz and be able to analyze a label in a few seconds. It becomes fun and easy.

Step Three:

Eat Approximately 40 Percent Carbohydrates, 30 – 35 Percent Protein, and 25 – 30 Percent Fat at Each Meal:

Strive to balance the carbohydrates, protein and fat in every meal by including all of them in approximately the above percentages. This is a critical step, as without a good balance of carbohydrates, protein and fat, you will not feel satiated. This is why diets fail in the long term – for the most part, although you will lose weight when you cut your calorie intake, you will not make that calorie reduction a permanent lifestyle change because cutting calories without balancing the carb/protein/fat ratios will leave you hungry and feeling deprived. This hunger and deprivation is what causes people to eventually revert back to their old eating habits and regain the weight.

How do you figure out the balance of carbs, proteins and fats in the foods you eat? You look at the Nutrition Information label on the food or check a calorie database (such as www.calorieking.com and www.calorie-count.com). If there is no label or you don’t have a computer access, just make sure to get some protein in every meal (like chicken, fish, low fat cheese, nuts). Don’t stress about having these exact ratios, but do aim for them. And once again, if you do this for a week, you will become a pro at knowing what combinations of foods give you the proper mix.

The key point I want emphasize is that this is not an exact calculation, just a general guideline. If you can’t figure out the ratios, just make sure to get a good source of protein in your meal. At breakfast, make sure you have eggs or cottage cheese or a lean meat. At lunch or dinner, chicken, fish, beef or pork. If you do not eat meat or dairy products, use tofu and meat substitutes. There are some terrific ones on the market now.

The above are some great guidelines to get you started. In my book, Stress Less, Weigh Less, I have a complete set of menu guidelines that will help you eat healthfully without starving yourself. I also have more than 50 of my personal five-ingredients-or-less recipes (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Side Dishes) for you to choose from so you don’t even have to think about what to eat. Just pick from any of these well-balanced, healthy, easy-to-make recipes.

Now that we have discussed how to revamp your eating, let’s move on to some tips on how to Exercise Efficiently.