Switch-it-Up Weight Loss Works!

Anybody can be a winner at weight loss, including you.???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

You may have years of experience struggling to keep your weight under control. It seems like the more you struggle, the more you gain.

When that happens, it’s a message we’re not getting. The message is, “You’re going about this all wrong!”

When we keep trying the same approach and it never works, we're getting a message. The message is, "that doesn't work; try something else!"

When we keep trying the same approach and it never works, we’re getting a message. The message is, “that doesn’t work; try something else!”

Although it seems logical that weight loss is ditching all the food we love that’s mostly fats, especially saturated fat, sugar, and refined flour and ditching them forever! The problem is we like those foods and although they’re not a great foundation for a weight management food plan, they have a place in our diet (and bellies and hearts!).

You don't have to say "goodbye" to chips altogether and you already know you haven't been able to do that anyway. You can eat smaller servings less often by switching some snacks from chips to fruit or vegetables.

You don’t have to say “goodbye” to chips altogether and you already know you haven’t been able to do that anyway. You can eat smaller servings less often by switching some snacks from chips to fruit or vegetables.

Instead of taking “eat only this / never eat that” weight loss road, switch it up by eating “more or this / less of that.

I’ve been a Weight Watchers leader for 23 years. I’ve heard many people say, “I can’t do that. I can’t eat less of that; I just can’t eat that at all!” I watch them insist they “don’t need to eat that; once I stop eating it, I won’t miss it!” They do miss it and when they miss it too much, they’ll eat it. It’s like a dam broke. They can’t stop!

Switch-it-up weight loss is built on the premise that there is no such thing as junk food or healthy food. No food is so junky that eating it as part of an overall healthful diet can endanger your health and no food is healthy that it can provide 100% of the nutrients you need daily, nor can a “healthy food” fix an unbalanced diet.

Some easy switches can overhaul an unhealthful diet to a healthy one that supports weight control.

Easy Switch-Ups

  • Reduce dependence on processed foods and increase consumption of whole foods.
  • Switch sugary drinks with added fats (lattes) for unsweetened ice tea or water.
  • Eat fewer dessert-type foods and when you do indulge switch portion from larger to smaller.
  • If you dine out often, switch your restaurant meals from “special occasion dining” to more like the kind of meals you might eat at home. (i.e. skip the bread or rolls, appetizers, wine, heavy sauces.) Switch fried foods for a meal that of lean baked or roasted protein, ask for sauces on the side and add your own fat or dressing to your salads and vegetables.
  • Change your order at the fast food restaurants. Stick to small burger and side salad (most of the time, but it’s okay to get small fries too occasionally), milk (most only serve 1%) or water to drink.
  • Switch from quickly eating and cleaning your plate to eating slower and stopping when you’re full instead of when there’s nothing left on the plate.

There’s nothing Earth-shattering here. The information isn’t cutting-edge or breakthrough and revolutionary new weight loss science. It’s just simple, achievable little switches that can become easy to do without a lot of thought and will bring you the kind of success that’s sustainable.

 

 

Jackie Conn

About Jackie Conn

Jackie Conn is married and has four grown daughters and four grandchildren. She is a Weight Watchers success story. She's a weight loss expert with 25 years of experience guiding women and men to their weight-related goals. Her articles on weight management have been published in health, family and women's magazines. She has been a regular guest on Channel 5 WABI news, FOX network morning program Good Day Maine and 207 on WCSH.