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Stick-It-Out Stamina
Maintaining Your Weight Loss Goals
By Catherine Cram, M.S.
Have a healthy snack mid-morning, such as a non-fat yogurt.
Lunch
Keep lunch light – it will help you stay more alert throughout the rest of the day. Make the core of your lunch protein rich with foods such as tuna, chicken or other types of fish. Mix with fat-free dressing and stuff into a pita. Include a piece of fruit and some baby carrots. A can of low-sodium vegetable juice is a great way to get a serving of vegetables.
Mid-afternoon keep your energy level even with apple slices spread with a teaspoon of peanut or cashew butter.
Dinner
Avoid eating dinner too early, especially if you tend to snack until bedtime. Most people think that it's a bad idea to eat later at night, but in reality, you're less likely to snack all night if you eat dinner a little later. You also can spread dinner out and snack on salad while you prepare dinner. A filling evening meal can consist of rice or pasta mixed with broccoli, red peppers or any other vegetables you enjoy. Add an ounce or two of lean chicken or other lean protein food. Top with tomato sauce and a teaspoon or two of Parmesan cheese.
Fortify Your Plan
Have a glass or two of skim milk or calcium-fortified orange juice every day to make sure you're getting the calcium you need.
The most important key in weight loss success is to keep temptation foods out of the house. No one needs to have cookies, cakes and candy in the house for thir children (a common reply when mothers are told to get rid of these or other trigger foods). Children are better off with healthy choices and so are adults. Success depends on having lots of healthy, quick-to-prepare foods at hand. Fruit is always a great choice as are vegetables, yogurt and vegetable-based soups.
