This is an article from Wieght Watchers / I found it very usefull :
Still think carbs are the devil? Still avoiding bread, rice, and pasta like the plague? Time for a reality check. While it is a good idea to drop white versions of these staples, their whole grain counterparts deserve a place on your plate. Here’s why :
The Truth About Carbs
The fad-diet debate has left many health-conscious people baffled about the best way to include carbs in their meals. With all the confusion, it's important to remember that carbohydrates provide essential nutrients and can (read: must) be included in any healthy weight-loss plan. In fact, fruits are loaded with carbs, and they're also prevalent in vegetables and dairy products. Now that says a lot for the credibility of no-carbohydrate diets!
Carbs are to our bodies what gas is to a car — a primary energy source. Without enough, we just can't make it up that hill. And the vitamins, minerals and fibre in carbohydrate-rich foods help keep us healthy. "Many of the nutrients in carbohydrate-containing foods are needed for protein and fat metabolism -— they help fight infection, promote the growth of tissue in the body and lubricate our joints," says Sam Rose, CN, MS.
Carbohydrates can be divided into two main types: simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are composed of simple sugars like those found in milk, fruit, regular soda and candy. They're easily broken down by the body and quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. Complex carbohydrates take longer for your body to break down and therefore don't produce as rapid a "sugar rush" — instead they often make us feel more energetic in the long run. Good sources of these energy packers include whole grains such as wheat bread and bran cereals, legumes and vegetables.
So why do some people try to steer clear of carbs? They wrongly fear that eating that piece of bread or a pretzel will shoot their blood-sugar levels sky-high and route calories directly to their thighs. But it's not carbs alone that pad the hips. Too many calories in general is typically the culprit. Eating more calories than you need — whether those extra calories come from protein, carbohydrates or fat — results in your body converting the excess into fat.
Including the Right Carbs in Your Diet The key to successfully implementing carbohydrates into a diet plan is choosing the right ones. When planning a meal, think of carbs in terms of their nutrient density, or the amount of nutrients (such as vitamins and minerals) and fibre the food provides. A couple of homemade doughnut holes, for example, which has a low nutrient density, costs a lot, but gives little nutritional reward in return. On the other hand, a cup of oatmeal offers a large nutritional payoff.
Starting the day with some complex carbs, then fueling up properly for the rest of the day, should provide protection against that mid-afternoon "I need a cookie" craving. But eating well isn't solely about carbs. "It makes sense to include carbohydrates for breakfast to provide your body with a ready source of energy after an overnight sleep," says Weight Watchers' chief scientist Karen Miller-Kovach. "However, a balanced breakfast is not made exclusively of carbs. Rather, it contains some protein and fat, which can be as simple as adding some low-fat milk on cereal or enjoying a hard-boiled egg."
From today I decided to write the topics we usually go through in my Weight Watchers meetings. I was thinking that might help the other people to get closer to their goal and keep their motivation up.
Just wanted to tell that I was away for 8 weeks. I was in Iran and had a really good time there . Unfortunately I gained 9 pounds there but I am trying to get myself back in track again.
A very close freind of mine in WW just reached 40 lbs loss of her weight. I just wanted to congtats her here and give her big hurray for never giving up after staying 4 months in a plateau . Hope I can change my life the way she did hers.
Very soon I will post the meeting points for my recent attending.
Defenition : Gratification ( lezat bordan) of one's own appetites, desires, passions , whim (havas) ~ dictionary.com~
Q : how do you think about indulging yourself ?
The following are some ways you can indulge yourself :
Going to the gym or for a nice walk , get a massage or have bubble bath , Week end gathering for breakfast or brunch ( it's just once a week) , Having a piece of choclate, Chatting on phone with a friend , ...
We can use another word for indulgence : " Treating yourself well "
Occaisionally indulging or treating yourself may help your weight loss effort.
The following senteces is from a TV show :
" I used to nurture myself with food, but now I am learning to nurture myself in a different way through exercise, healthy eating, and appreciation of myself "
And here comes another good one :
There is no valid reason to STOP taking care of yourself just opportunities for excuses. ( I love this sentence)
My Gym Program which has been assigned to me by my trainer Sean is started officially yesterday Janaury the 30Th. It will take until the middle of the March.
It is a 6 week program mix of cardio and weights. Every 2 weeks there is a change in the program . I want to follow this program with a moderate healthy eating program. ( I hate the word DIET )
Let's see what will happen .
Today I have a Weight Watcher's meeting. I was not quite good the past week let's see the result.
Let's cross the fingers for not gaining
===================================
I am back home , the following things happened :
I lost 0.2 lbs (almost nothing) which I am so happy ( it means I didn't gain).
I saw the movie PERSEPOLIS and it was fabulous.
I bought a box of cereal Special K only because of the free step counter which was included.
For lunch I ate a lovely big bowl of salad.
For dinner I want to eat FESSENJOON (Torsh) . I want to treat myself .
My hubby picked up my son from the daycare instead of me ( I swear , it is a tough job).
I cried a lot in the cinema. I think I am lighter now.
Today Is my dayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy .
Well , it is about 1 week I am back from Florida . It was such a nice vacation specially having the sun and the temperature 27c , ocean ,..., my birthday .
But I learnt something .
Unfortunately I am not changed mentally .
It is again related to the food . I can tell that I ate what ever I wanted . Every time I saw that magnificent Buffet Breakfast I forget everything , counting points , the level of the fullness , avoiding un healthy food.
I was so lucky that the result was not that bad the way It supposed to be.
Yesterday I went to my WW meeting and as a fortune , I just gained 1.2 lbs and the best thing that I don't lose my 20 lbs STAR.
But the thing that I am sorry for is still I need a big force to continue this journey. I was talking with my leader about this and she said something I want to share it with you :
It takes so long to built a habit ( it may take a year or even years) .
Any way, I am back on track (something I am happy about) and
I WILL CONTINUE NO MATTER WHAT .
Anar joonam , you are soooooooooooo funny . Some times you forget giving me the star but the past month you announced it 2 times the loss of my 20 lbs . Thank you so muchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh .
One more thing , I've started GYM . It's really fun specially with this cute, handsome,sexy ,.. trainer . He gave me a 6 week weight loss program . let's see what will be the result.
Thank you again my dear friends for your support and for your lovely comments . Thank you for reading here.
Actally I came here to confess that I am really lazy in blogging. Some times I just get jealous when I see people drop the lines that easy in their web logs. For me it is really a hard job. Even writing a comment . So don't think that I don't like you when I don't put any comments , I am just simply lazy on writing.
Well, by next week, December the sixth it will be 3 months that I am participating with the Weight Watchers program. Since then I see big changes in my whole life . I am so happy with the pogrom and I attend my weekly meetings no mather what.
I 'll try to stick to the program as far as I can and I think for everybody there is a way to reach the goal, the only effort we should do is to find it and try to commit it.
So far I've lost 19.4 lbs (8.8 kilogram). The average of 3 kilo for each month which is not bad. Today in my meeting I was almost shocked , I've lost 5.2 lbs during the last week which was never happened in my whole life ( of course I should tell that I was sick the whole week) . I drank lots of hot liquid . So I can tell that drinking water or any other non sweeted drinks will help to loose weight.
Following you will see a summery of my passed 7 weeks :
Week 7 : lost 1.8 lbs
Week 8 : lost 1.0 lbs
Week 9 : lost 0.2 lbs
Week 10 : lost 1.2 lbs
Week 11 : lost 5.2 lbs (WOW )
I got my 15 pound lost star today from WW and I expect to get my beautiful star from Anar joonam next week.
I am going back to English NOT Finglish( cause I hate it) . Unfortunately the Website "oghab.com" is not working anymore so I can not type FARSI. Any suggestions ? Any way my past 2 weeks were great . I lost 3 pounds at the first week of my second month . Today I attended my meeting in Weight Watchers and again I lost 1.8 pounds. Isn't that great? WW really works for me and I really recommend it to any body whom have access to it. I feel fabuloussssssssssssssssss . I hope every body in the group had also a great week. Totally in 6 weeks I lost 10 pounds. I have a very good feeling about ma and this past 6 weeks and I wish I remain still motivated ( the way I am now) until the end of my journey.
خلاصه ماجرا از اين قرار شد كه بعد از 2 روز پرستار پسرك به من زنگ زد و گفت برام از دكتر تغذيه وقت گرفته و همچنين گفت يه برنامه اي هست به اسم ويت واچرز كه براي خيلي ها موثر بوده به امتحانش مي ارزه. البته من اسم اين برنامه رو از انار جونم بارها و بارها شنيده بودم اون اصطلاح وزن كشي با مزش ولي خوب اطلاعي زياد نداشتم خلاص كه يه صلاح ديدي با انار كردم ديدم اونم يه فيد بك مثبت بهم دادو خلاصه الان يك ماهه كه شروع كردم و خيلي هم راضيم وزن كشي و ميتينگ هاي من 5 شنبه هاست و همگروهي هام هم خوبن مثل وبلاگ انار جون كلي اطلايات مفيد بهم ميدن ليدرمو هم خيلي دوست دارم هميشه كلي بهم انگيزه ميده . پيش دكتر تغذيه هم ميرم تا روش درست غذا خوردن رو ياد بگيرم خلاصه اين 2 روش رو با هم ادغام كردم ببينم اگه خدابخواد و از همه مهمتر خودم همت كنم نتيجه بده. از اين به بعد هم هر هفته كه از ميتينگ برگشتم گزارش اون هقته رو مينوسم ولي الان گزارش ماه اول رو با هم يه جا ميدم. ميزان تغيير وزن هفته اول 1.4 پوند كاهش وزن ميزان تغيير وزن هفته دوم 2.6 پوند كاهش وزن ميزان تغيير وزن هفته سوم 2.4 پوند كاهش وزن
تو همين جلسه بود كه ليدرم اسممو جلوي همه گفت و ستاره 5 پونديمو بهم داد و همه كلي تشويقم كردن
Manage Cues(signals) that trigger over-eating.
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( I swear , it is a tough job).
)