Get Fit Slowly

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Recently, JD and I have had both successes and failures with our nutritional plans. Both of us have lost some weight since we’ve started, which means that we’ve had more successes. This is a great thing and many commenters have suggested that some day we’ll meet our target weights and find a whole new set of challenges.

I still have about 15 pounds to go before I get to my target weight of 180 pounds. Now, 15 pounds is a few more pounds than what I would consider “Those Last Few Pounds.” But I found an article in April’s issue of Health Magazine that reported on some foods that you can add to your diet to help you get to your goal when it’s finally within sight. What I really liked about the article was it gave the nutritional benefits of those foods and some ideas of how to incorporate those foods into your diet. Here’s the list:

• Pears–Pears are packed full of fiber which helps make you feel full. 1 pear contains 15% of your daily recommended amount and a Brazilian study showed that women who ate 3 pears a day ate fewer calories and lost more weight than those who didn’t.
• Grapefruit–Yuck! I hate grapefruit. But according to researchers at Scripps Institute, a chemical in grapefruit helps to regulate insulin levels in the body which can help you lose weight. Up to 1 extra pound a week was reported in the study. Supposedly, grapefruit goes well with spinach, shrimp, and jicama. Who knew?
• Almonds–This one’s not really news to me. I eat a handful of almonds (a small one) at least once a day. The study cited here said that dieters who ate almonds daily lost 18% of their body fat in six months while dieters who ate the same number of calories but replaced almonds with complex carbohydrates only lost 11% of their body fat.
• Chocolate–Great news for chocolate lovers again! Not only is dark chocolate high in antioxidants, it also appears to prevent the accumulation of fat cells in the body. Sounds good to me, except I’d much rather eat milk chocolate than dark.
• Navy Beans–I love my beans. Navy beans are better than other beans because they contain a higher amount of “resistant starch” which is supposedly a “powerful fat burner.” One meal per day of foods that contain high amounts of resistant starch helps you to burn 25% more fat than you would normally burn. So dice up an onion, saute it with some garlic and olive oil, puree and serve. Good stuff.

Here’s hoping that those of you who are further along in your weight loss journeys can use some of these tips to get you to the finish line.