If you followed last Monday’s blog, I hope all went well with your effort to regulate meals, ensure balance and portion control. That wasn’t so bad, right?

Here’s what you have to look forward to in Week 2:

Continue:

• Portion control.
• Eat regular meals (at least three per day, preferably four).
• Have balanced meals, making sure you get sufficient protein and fiber in particular.

In addition, for Week 2:

• Refrain from adding salt (including ketchup, soy sauce fish sauces, dressing and other salty seasonings).
• Substitute with lemon, balsamic vinegar, herbs, etc. for flavoring rather than salty seasonings.
• Limit sugar. Avoid extra sweet treats (like candy, pastries, cookies, cakes, etc.), as well as high sugar beverages like sweetened juices and sodas. You can sweeten your coffee with Splenda (or other sweetener in small amounts).
• If you have to satisfy a sweet tooth, eat fresh fruit instead.
• Avoid salty snacks like chips, Chinese seeds, Japanese tsukemono, salted nuts and cheese. Substitute with low sodium crackers, unsalted nuts, trail mix, fresh veggie sticks, etc.

You’d be surprised how quickly your taste can adapt. Within these next two weeks until Thanksgiving, if you stay the course and avoid the salty snacks and seasoning, you will find your taste buds awaken.

P.S. Don’t forget to keep exercising 2-3 times per week and get your body to work up a sweat. Exercise is a key part of this change. This isn’t a “diet” to make you starve yourself before the holidays. You should feel content with what you’re eating but make progressive modifications to get your body used to smaller, better meals, unmasked flavors, and begin to wean yourself off of routine over-indulgence.

*** MAHALO to all of you who have completed the general health survey. Thanks to all of you, we are well on our way to 500 responses! (Hooray!) For those who haven’t done it, I invite you to participate, tell your friends and help Build a Healthy Hawaii. Please visit my website www.lifefitnet.com. It is a short 12-question online survey that should take only 2-3 minutes to complete. Mahalo for your support!  Lori

Tags: diet, health, nutrition, Thanksgiving, weight loss, wellness

This entry was posted on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 6:00 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.