Think Slim, Issue #008 - Soul Food?

February 28, 2005

Look great, feel great

Hi

I hope you had a good February.

There's not much sign of spring in the air here in Scotland although the shops are starting to fill with tempting new colours - more incentive to lose a few pounds than all those keep-everything-covered winter coats...

All the best for losing a few pounds in March

Love

P.S. There are quite a few postings on the Think Slim blog this month. See them all at http://smallchange.typepad.com/thinkslim.

P.P.S I said I'd let you know about the results of the survey this month – I've put them at the end if you're interested.

Contents

Feature article : Soul Food?

What does your favourite food do for you? Do you love the flavour as it melts in your mouth? Do you love the texture? Does it fill you up and make you feel warm inside? Does it remind you of good times in your life? Does it make you feel better when you're fed up?

Food can and does do all these good things for us!

But what if your favourite food also

• Piles on the calories?
• Pads out your hips and stomach with fat you don't want?
• Clogs your arteries?
• Gives you a huge hit of sugar which as sure as Tuesday follows Monday will result in a sugar low and a craving for more food?
• Increases your level of bad cholesterol?
• Is full of salt and threatens your blood pressure?
• Is completely lacking in vitamins and minerals depriving you of the nutrients you need?
• Makes you feel full of regret when you've eaten it?

Is it such a friend to you then? Pretty false friend I would say!

How about getting a new favourite? Don't worry it doesn't have to be boring like carrots and celery – no one was ever comforted by a carrot!

Choose something absolutely delicious that you can make and keep in your freezer ready to cheer you up when you need some great comfort food. For example

• Chicken cooked in white wine served with mashed potatoes mixed with a spoonful of sour cream and chopped chives
• Beef in red wine cooked slowly to a wonderful tender thick stew with bacon, onions and mushrooms served with a few baby potatoes and greens
• Soft boiled eggs and soldiers (thin slices of toast for dipping) or any nourishing food you had as a child such as milky puddings
• Soup just like your mother made when you were ill (if she did – mine wasn't one for soup!)

So forget pizza and chocolate. They will always be false friends to you making you feel worse after any close encounter.

Get yourself a supply of real comfort food that you can get ready at a moment's notice and enjoy something which is better for your waistline as well as your soul.

This month's tip : Coffee Bar

Did you know that the average gourmet coffee drinker takes in (on average) an extra 200 calories a day compared to those who don't hit the coffee shop – enough for a 1lb in weight every 17 days?

If you are a regular consumer of milky or flavoured coffee you'll find switching to espresso or skimmed milk filter coffee will get you the coffee flavour without piling on the pounds.

If your weight has been stable recently despite your gourmet coffee drinks this may be all you have to do to lose weight!

Survey Results: Weight Loss Motivation survey

First of all I asked "What is most important to you in a diet plan?"

91% of you said "Losing weight permanently". The next highest answers at around 64% were "Enough food so I don't feel hungry" and "Simple to follow (no carbs, calories or points to count)".

As for the most important thing about an exercise plan, the highest answer (64%) was "Easy to fit into my life, takes little time" closely followed by "matching my current level of fitness".

When we look at why you want to lose weight, 86% of you want to slim to feel better about yourself and your body and 81% want an improvement in health (and there were lots of other answers given because there are so many good reasons to succeed at this).

About 60% of you feel like you have been on and off diets half your life.

As for help, most of you (64%) tend to go it alone when you're on a diet and don't get much outside support. (Feel free to write if I can help in any way).

About half of you have more than 20lbs to lose with about a third wanting to lose between 10 and 20lbs and the rest less than 10lbs.

A big thank you to those of you who took part in the survey. I hope you enjoyed the Slimming manual.

I have lots of ideas about helping you further with motivation so watch this space.

Wishing you a fantastic month, looking and feeling great

Janice Elizabeth Small

P.S. I hope you enjoyed this newsletter. If you have any comments or suggestions for future issues, please let me know. I'd love to hear from you. Just reply to this ezine.

P.P.S.Know anyone else who might enjoy it? Please pass it on. If you received this from a friend you can sign up for your own copy at....

www.weight-loss-motivation-program.com

copyright © 2005, J. Small. All Rights reserved.

Back to Back Issues Page