weight loss and planning

We are used to planning lots of things concerning our day....what time we wake up, what we need to get accomplished at work, who is going to bring the kids to their after school events...etc..lots and lots of planning....

Do we have time to "plan" what we are going to do for dinner if we are out on a business meeting? Time to plan what we will do for a snack in the airport? Do we plan how to get 3-4 exercise sessions in per week?

The long term control of weight requires much planning...you must make the time to plan your meals, plan how you will navigate around difficult days, plan how you can avoid reaching for those food sources that caused you to have weight control issues.

It takes time to plan these things...but taking that time is very important.

weight loss and planning

We plan our days often like a script of a movie...what time we need to awaken, what time we leave for work, what will we will wear, when we will take vacation time, when do we need to visit a family member..etc....we plan lots of things.

Sometimes we do not find ourselves planning our food intake...we make that decision on the fly. It may be a matter of wandering down to the work cafeteria, deciding after our chil'd baseball game what fast food place to drive thru, etc.

One of the elements that is vitally important to long term weight loss is planning what you are going to eat. If you will be in an airport over lunchtime, what places in the terminal will provide you with healthier choices? If you will be home late from attending a child's sports event, what will you provide to you and your family for dinner?

All this requires "planning" and I suggest that on Sunday, take out a piece of paper and plot out your week in advance so you may identify the "challenges" of the week and make your plans to NOT allow these challenges to derail your efforts.

Long tyerm weight loss does require planning and mentating though all the issues, including the busy schedule of yours that would tend to put you back into old eating behaviors.

weight loss and planning

This week I had several patients whose week was challenging in the weight loss arena because of a very hectic schedule. These patients found themselves making "decisions on the run", meaning that there was no meal or exoercise planning involved, so they would up making quick food choices and no exercise. That is a formula for weight gain.

Planning your meals and snacks is a very important part of a long-term weight loss strategy. I suggest that you take the time, on your quietist day of the week (Sunday?) to sit down with a piece of paper and plot out your week. For instance, if you know that a certain day will involve travel, what snacks will you bring with you? What eating facility in the airport can deliver a high protein/high vegetable meal? If you need to attend a soccor game that ends late, what type of dinner will you have?

Write down each day and PLAN how you will approach your eating activities. A small amount of planning will go a very long way in helping you achieve your weight loss goals.

weight loss and planning

First ..to Eric....please call our office or e-mail Julia the Registered dietician for individualized questions concerning the dietary plan....thanks!

Yesterday one of my very busy professional patients was lamenting that she didn't have the time to have lunch because of a court appearance and often it is difficult for her to get snacks in.

My suspician is that most of the people in the d.c. area have very hectic schedules regardless of their professions. Between work and family duties there is precious little time to prioritize themselves and their eating schedules.

I suggest on the one relatively quiet day of the week (Sunday?) you take the time to sit down with a large piece of paper and pen, and plan out your week in adbvance. Write down each day, think about what you need to do that day, and then write out your plan as to how you get the three meals in and snacks that are conducive with our plan. Just like the football coach who has his first 15 plays scripted, plan out your week in advance and follow through with that plan.

We often get into trouble when we make food decisions on the go. We will often make the wrong decisions as this relates to losing weight.

weight loss and resolve

Every day presents challenges, some unique and some common , to your weight loss efforts. Whether it be a business trip which places you at airports, lunch meetings where food is provided by the company, a child's baseball game that doesn't end until 8pm; the list goes on and on with roadblocks and obstacles that get in the way of being able to focus on your weight loss efforts.

When you are in a weight losing mode, planning, eating meals on time, being able to select high-protein/low carb food choices are all integral components for success. These life events as mentioned above, and hundreds of more, make the planning more difficult.

You have a choice: learn to navigate around these obstacles or cave in and use them as excuses. For the long term success of losing weight and keeping it off, you must learn how to control the environment and not have the environment control you.

weight loss and planning

Due to our very busy schedules, taking the time to plan in advance your meal schedule for the upcoming week is difficult. However, for the long-term success of losing weight and maintaining that weight loss, planning is an important element.

I would encourage each of you to perhaps reserve some time on Sunday and take out a piece of paper and start thinking about the week in advance. Do you have travel coming up that will place you at lunchtime at an airport on Thursday? Will you be in a late meeting Wednesday and have to bring dinner? If the kids have a late game on Tuesday, what about dinner that night?

Every week will present different or similar challenges, and "mentating" through these issues will go a long way in helping you maintain focus and control. When we make choices on the go, often these spontaneous actions will lead us to poor food choices. Take the time to plan...it is worth it!

"Bread..I Need Bread..."

Okay, yesterday I did NOT do something I always tell my patients to do...and that is PLAN their meals in advance if a challenging day is expected. Okay..here is my story: Yesterday, after office hours, we drove up to New Jersey for a family member's surprise party. The first surprise was the traffic on the Jersey Turnpike. Bumper to bumper for the entire way. The trip, which should have lasted 3.5 hours turned into a 7 hour nightmare. None of us ate lunch, anticipating a relaxing stop for some small food enroute and then dinner at 8PM. Because of the excessive traffic, we would up not eating much of anything , and we were all starving by the time we had to throw our clothes on and get there in time for the surprise. As we had to get there 1/2 hour before the birthday guest of honor, a bar was open, but no food When the waiter brought over the first bread basket after the surprise and then we finally sat down for the meal, it was devoured in seconds. "Bring another please!!!"

We/I did not do the planning necessary to ensure that we would not resort to reaching immediately for the carbs. We should have brought snacks in the car anticipating a possible travel problem and then we would not have felt so hungry before dinner.

Plan your day in advance to ensure that you do not skip meals and wind up "starving" later. I need to follow my own advice!!!!

The Big Apple

Good morning from Manhatten! The city has an energy unmatched by any other I have been in. I couldn't help but notice that there seemingly is a higher % of people here overweight than in the D.C. area. Not that I was counting overweught people but my generalized impression was at the restaurant I was in that I was seeing more overweight people that I do at the D.C. restaurants I frequent.

Perhaps it is the stress and "rushing" that are endemic to a very large crowded city. The more time someone commutes to work, drive in traffic, etc., the less time to plan meals and more likely to make quick easy food choices....slice of pizza...pretzel at the stands etc.

We all only have a certain amount of time per day to focus on a number of issues that confront us everyday...children issues, other family maters, work commute, issues at work, etc. The more time we need to attend to the essential daily activities, the less time we have to focus on our own issues. Planning our meals, not making fast choices, finding exercise time...all of these are important for long term weight loss.

School is back in session..be careful!

First, I hope to see those of you come into the office with your collection of August words of the day....if you have them, you get a cool surprise....

First September word of the day: School

Okay, so what about school? For those of you who are parents and your children are going back to school today, I wanted to remind you of the challenges involved concerning your focus on losing weight. Preparing them for going to school, then going to a full day of work, then off to a soccer practice or other after school activity, then home. Not much time to think about what is for dinner or even lunch for that matter. The tendency is to start doing "quick" things for meals, and what is quicker than a drive-thru fast food restaurant?

This becomes a very challenging time and requires you to use Sunday perhaps for 30 minutes as a "planning" day. Look at your week in advance and start plotting/planning out how you will handle the challenges of the upcoming week. Perhaps only a few days are challenging, but you ust think about this in advance because when we make decisions on the fly, they are usually not the best ones for keeping our weight under control. Also, as it remains darker later and turns darker ealrier, those of us who enjoy outdoor exercise may start finding less and less time to do it outside. Develop alternative indoor exercise plans to offset the less outdoor time.

The challenges exist but with the correct planning, you can indeed overcome these challenges and make your weight loss efforts successful!

Completely off subject but here goes: Do any of you Skins fans really think you have a chance at the Giants this Thursday nite??? Okay, I KNOW this will get some comments!!!

weight loss and quick choices

Yesterday I saw two different patients whose weight loss was minimal and both described a very hectic week in which there was little time to do a "real" lunch necessitating a fast food drive through lunch eaten in the car. Both patients stated they made their best efforts...buns came off the burgers, only a few of the fries, etc.

A few points here: First, planning your meals in advance, especially when you know a particular week will be very difficult, is a very important step you need to make for long term success in managing weight. Perhaps if you know you will be in the car during lunchtime, either resort to an approved protein bar and water or build in the time necessary to stop for 15 minutes and eat a prepared meal you brought in a cooler. Perhaps some type of protein (tuna,chicken,steak) on a bed of vegetables. Planning is at the very enter of a long term strategy.

Second point: No fast food places! They test the very fabric of our human nature eating issues (let us remember the 'Supersize" issues and the promotions that make it seem stupid not to get the fries and soda with your sandwich). The yougurt parfaits and salads are loaed with calories and there are really litte-no "healthy" choices available. The fast food places get us into the weight trouble to begin with and they will not be able to get you out of it.

Planning meals and avoiding the ease of drive thru places are time cnsumming and make life more difficult for us. But always try to remember the reasons as to why you want to lose weight, and the planning will be well worth your efforts.

Weight Loss and Plan

If you follow football, you will see that the quarterback has a bunch of plays on his wristband and he is in contact with the coach on the sideline. The coach calls the play and the quarterback then alerts his teammates in the huddle as to the call. The quarterback sometimes has to refer to his "cheatsheet" on the wrist to make certain his instructions in the huddle match up to the scripted play. Frequently, a team has it's first 10 plays already scripted and the plan is set. If there was no play called or no master plan in effect and the quarterback had to audible (call the play at the line of scrimmage) everytime, odds would be strong that the offense will not do very well.

What does this have to do with weight loss? Okay, here is my analogy: You get on the scale (word of the day: Mermaid) after a weekend of some fun and parties, and you see your weight has gone up by 3 pounds. If you really do not have a plan in place to do something about this, then you will become distracted and the next week it may be up another several pounds, and then another, etc. Obviously, when you are in our program being seen weekly, we are here to monitor the situation and help you with your gamplan and strategy to get the weight off. However, when you are not with us, you are on your own to have a plan in place to shed the pounds you strive for.

I would recommend that you "script" your plan, meaning that if you get on the scale and see 4 pounds of weight gain, you have a certain exact plan in mind to lose that 4 pounds. (Perhaps Phase 1 of our Transitional Serotonin-Plus Dietary Plan for 1-2 weeks?) If it is 1 pound, you have a different plan (Phase 2?). Keep that clipboard with your weight and date next to your scale and monitor this weekly and have your plan already scripted out. This will go a long way in helping you achieve your goals.