Scale It Down

Why can't I get on the scale more than once a week?

Because you'll be TORTURING yourself if you do! A slow and painful, mental anguish will set in if it's higher than you want it to be - which will de-motivate you from sticking to your weight loss goals. And if it's lower than you thought - you may find yourself motivated to do other things like, PIG OUT! There's just too much up and down body chemistry going on to track your weight levels more than once a week. When you plant a seed, do you stand over it every day to see how much it grows? If you bake a cake, do you camp out in front of the oven door to watch it rise? Give yourself time to accomplish what you're trying to do. Once a week is enough, no more or no less!

Should I be worrying about carbs, sodium etc.?

I believe we can drive ourselves nuts if we get all hung up on the nutritional dissection of the food we're eating. Unless there's a medical condition involved, why go crazy with worrying about all the grams of every element in your food? If you stick to a structure, whether it's calorie awareness or just trying to eat better, you'll be happier and more apt to stick to weight reduction mode. If you are sincerely trying to become a lean, healthy eating, fitness machine, then you've got to spend some money and have a nutritionist and professional trainer draw up the best plans for you.

Do you have any low fat recipes?

All my recipes focus on lowering the calories, because by reducing the calories, you'll be reducing the fat. Reducing the fat only in a recipe doesn't automatically guarantee it will be low in calories! There are a lot of ingredients other than fat that may be equally high in calories, which need caloric adjustment too. Remember also that fat free, doesn't mean calorie free; and finding fat free foods (i.e. processed or home cooked) that taste really good are hard to find. Always scrutinize fat free and low fat recipes for their total calorie count too.

Do you have any menu plans?

The way to approach menu planning is to figure out what works with your schedule, preferences and caloric intake goals. Why follow someone else's guide to melba toast when you can create meals (by doing your homework ahead of time) that appeal to your taste buds and time constraints?

Any suggestions for coordinating 64 oz. of water a day when bathroom access isn't easy at work?

Great question, because some us aren't as free to visit the porcelain God as others may be throughout the work day. The best way to approach this is to get a handle on how quickly your body responds to water intake and then work from there. Plan your water like the way you should plan your food - AHEAD OF TIME! If you can drink most of it after work and get rid of it before you go to sleep, then do so. Or try splitting it out into 3 or 4 equal parts over the course of the day. Or, by drinking as much as you can before work and on the way to/from work, you might be able to knock out more than half of your quota for the day just by doing that. Keep trying different approaches until you find the method that works best with your body and schedule. And ALWAYS carry that water around with you!