DIET | DETECTIVE^®

Fat free overdose
In terms of weight loss, it's calories that count. If you're shopping cart is full of fat-free or low-fat goodies such as cookies, ice pops, pretzels, chips etc, you may be packing on more calories than you think. In order for fat-free foods to taste nearly as good as their full-fat counterpart, something usually needs to be added, and most of the time it's sugar. Some fat-free foods contain even MORE calories than the original product! Your best bet is to choose foods naturally low in fat, such as fruits and veggies, and to read food labels to make sure your fat-free or low-fat products are also LOW CALORIE!

Don't pick at it!
Wise words to live by when trying to lose weight. Contrary to popular belief (or wishful thinking), sips, tastes, bites, foods that crumble, foods that don't hit your plate, or the remainder of your child's lunch DO IN FACT HAVE CALORIES and WILL RESULT IN WEIGHT GAIN!

Portion sizes
Take a look at your portion sizes. Even overeating healthy foods can result in weight gain. For example, two cups of rice, whether its brown or white is still close to 500 calories. Try measuring your portions for a week to get back on your weight loss streak.

Exercise - a license to overeat?
Exercise does burn calories, and does allow you to have a little extra on your plate in comparison to sedentary individuals, but it does NOT give you the license to overeat. Keep in mind that your body is burning calories all day long just to keep you alive, not just when exercising. In fact, physical activity only accounts for about 10-30% of your total energy needs, while the rest is burned by vital life functions such as heartbeat, circulation or breathing. That means those 500 calories you burn during a work out are not 500 EXTRA calories. A large percentage of those calories would have been burned anyway, even if you just sat on the couch all night. This is not to say exercise is a waste of time -- it still allows you to develop muscle, increase your metabolism, aid in weight loss, maintain your weight and burn calories you would not be burning otherwise. But in order to lose or maintain your weight, you need to exercise AND follow a healthy low calorie diet.

Too little sleep...
Fatigue is a symptom of hunger, so it is common to seek food to remedy your sleepiness. In fact, some studies have implicated hormonal changes that occur during sleep deprivation that may result in weight gain or overeating. Additionally, if you're tired all the time, your cognition can become impaired and your inhibitions drop, meaning you're less likely to care about planning healthy meals or making it a point to get to the gym after work. Instead of grabbing a second coffee and donut or staying up to catch the late show, aim for making it an early night and catch some zzz's instead.

...And too much stress
Resorting to food as comfort in times of stress is very common. After all, most of the time it's easier to grab something to eat than it is to resolve the situation that is causing you the stress in the first place. The problem is that eating when stressed is only a temporary fix. It will make you feel good in the short term, but will do little to help what is causing your stress. Additionally, if you're trying to lose weight, eating when stressed will eventually make you feel worse because it will counter what you are trying to achieve (namely, weight loss!). Some studies have even found that stress induces weight gain due to hormonal changes. So, what are your options to reduce stress? Your best bet is always to face the problem and deal with it head on. Try deep breathing, counting to 10, taking a quick walk to "cool off."

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