Weight slowed down? Wonder why!!!

Really interesting!!!! I got this idea from an article published by the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension. I've adapted it to fit surgical weight loss patients. The news is good and bad. If you need to gain weight, you can see how easily it can be done without eating very much. If your weight loss has stopped or you are regaining, you can see how easily that can happen. It only takes 200 extra calories a day to gain 10 pounds per year! If you are not exercising, you will increase your fat mass, lose muscle mass, and your body will burn fewer total calories. The bottom line is regardless of whether you are eating protein, fat, or carbohydrate, if it is more than you need, it will be stored as fat! Calories and portions do count! Bite 1: You are cleaning out the refrigerator for trash day and notice there is only a quarter cup of juice left. You need the space so you decide to drink it instead of throwing it out. 30 calories Bite 2: The kids are having mini powdered donuts. They look so good one can't hurt. 65 calories Bite 3: You made the coffee too strong today so you add some hazelnut flavored creamer to tone down the taste. 35 calories Bite 4: You decide to have a small hamburger for lunch but forget to tell them to leave off the dressing. 100 calories Bite 5: Your breath is not smelling so hot after eating lunch so you have two breath mints. 20 calories Bite 6: The candy jar at work is calling you. The peppermint patties are only snack size so one shouldn't be a big deal. 57 calories Bite 7: You are getting kind of hungry but it is too early for dinner. You decide to eat the other half of the protein bar in your drawer. 150 calories Bite 8: Your commute home takes over an hour. You have some chips in the car and you grab about 8 chips to eat while you sit in traffic. 75 calories Bite 9: You are going to a card game at your friend's house. There are all kinds of things to munch on. You decide a handful of peanuts (¼) couldn't hurt. 163 calories Grand Total: 695 calories! This is over half the day's calories for many surgical weight loss patients. One half hour of exercise typically burns only 200 to 300 calories so even that cannot counteract this type of eating behavior. It is very important to keep a food journal if for no other reason, to make you aware of your eating habits and help you see what you need to work on. Yours in Health, Sally Myers, RD, CPT This article was published in the April 2006 Issue of Beyond Change. For more great articles Subscribe Today!

This is so true! I tell you, it is the little things that get you. Thanks for sharing.

This article is soooo true. I have a daycare in my home and I am handing out things to the children that I do not normally eat all the time. Pretzel, poptarts, cereal, toast and the list goes on. I struggle daily with taking a bite here and there. I try to be really honest with myself and track even the small things in fitday, but sometimes I wonder if I am really accurate. I do know that from some bad eating over the last little while due to stress. I am craving the carbs again. I have discovered that the more carbs I eat the more I crave them. I would like to rid my home entirely of any bad stuff but that would not work for the daycare kids or my teenage son. Oh well, in the meantime, I just fight the urges and sometimes I win and sometimes I dont. Lynn