Brown Honey’s Diet Tip Corner! - VOLUMN 1; ISSUE 2: "Take Responsibility and Control"

Behavior Tip - Take Responsibility and Control
You may often feel like you don’t have control over your eating habits. However, believing that you don’t have control means that you are not taking responsibility for your actions. If you feel as though you don’t have control, then you probably blame others or have excuses for times you give in to temptation. Maybe you blame your spouse for bringing home sweets, or say you were weak due to stress from work, or maybe you use a special occasion as an excuse to eat cake.
If you want to take control of your weight, you need to take responsibility for your actions. Your spouse may have brought sweets home, but who chose to eat them? Maybe you are stressed from work, but can’t you relax without eating foods not on your program? On a special occasion, can’t you choose to celebrate without eating cake? Your answer should be “yes" to all of these questions if you’re ready to take control.
You have the power to choose to eat fruit or a low-fat, low-calorie snack like sugar free jell-o, when you are tempted by sweet treats. When you are stressed, you have control in making the decision to fall off your program; or relax with a bath, a good book, or by calling a friend.
If you find yourself making excuses to slip off your diet program, try taking responsibility for your actions. It’s important that you gain a sense of control on your Diet Program, so that you can successfully lose weight.


Exercise Tip - Feel Good & Burn Fat
Stress can make it difficult to resist temptation. It also can make it more difficult for your body to burn fat. Stress slows down fat metabolism, and triggers the body to release hormones that stimulate the appetite, cause fatigue or depression, and/or store fat. You can take care of all these problems with a little exercise. Exercise can help you feel good, burn extra calories, and burn fat!
Studies show that exercise improves mood, distracts from worries, reduces stress and frustration, and improves self-esteem. Working out for at least 30 minutes a day will help you burn extra calories and lose body fat. You can even break up your workouts into 10 or 15 minute sessions to fit into your schedule. When you’re struggling with stress, feeling down or frustrated, and not losing the pounds and inches as fast as you’d like, try exercising. Incorporating exercise into your daily routine is one simple measure that may be the solution to several problems.

Nutrition Tip -Colorful Carbs to Cut Calories
There is a lot of controversy when it comes to carbohydrates and weight loss. Some people do well restricting their carbohydrate intake, and others are fine with the number of servings recommended by MyPyramid. However, nutrition experts agree that there are good carbs that should be part of any healthy diet. These good carbs include nutritionally rich fruits and vegetables.
One tip you can keep in mind is to choose the most colorful carbohydrates in the produce section of the grocery. Colorful fruits and vegetables will help you cut back on calories while filling you up with fiber, vitamins, minerals and compounds that help reduce the risk of certain types of diseases. In fact, the deeper the color is, the higher the nutrient content tends to be. Orange carrots, red peppers, green spinach and deep blue blueberries are examples of nutrient rich, deeply colored produce.
Aim to choose a colorful palette of fruits and vegetables to put on your plate. It will help you include the good carbohydrates that contribute to a nutritious diet that will help you lose weight.


Weight Loss Tip - Cut Calories Fast
Most people are well aware of the amount of excess calories and fat that can be consumed through fast food. Have you ever wondered how much a fast food meal could really add to your day? Researchers from the University of Alabama analyzed the intake of patrons of several popular fast food chains. They found that a fast food meal was the highest in calories and fat compared to other meals on the same day. The fast food meals averaged 1050 calories, 41 grams fat, and 2150 milligrams of sodium! Furthermore, the total calories, fat and sodium amounted to more than the rest of the day’s food combined.
The researchers also found that people who eat fast food 3 or more times a week tend to consume even more calories and fat than people who ate fast food occasionally. They also found that the more people ate at fast food restaurants, the higher their body weight was.
It’s a well-established fact that fast food can contribute to excess calories, fat and weight gain. Therefore, cutting out fast food is one behavior that can help you cut away extra pounds.