Have you been under the impression that it would be so little food that you?d starve? Think again. Here?s part of what I learned to lose 140 pounds.
Three great meals ? total: under 1000 calories.
When you do the work to plan ahead (one of the Key Behaviors I teach) and learn the other technique I teach, you?ll find you can have plenty of scrumptious food that will fit your ?caloric budget?. You?ll find that you can live well on 1000 calories per day and lose weight at a good pace. What?s more important, when you establish the habit patterns of eating the food you like in healthy caloric volumes, you?ll never have a weight problem again. I?ll lay out one day?s menu to give you an idea of how well you can live and lose weight at the same time.
Breakfast: Veggie and cheese omelette with buttered toast and coffee with real cream: 321calories.
This is an omelette I make at least once-a-week. With all the ingredients, even the buttered toast, it?s under 350 calories! That?s a lot less than a Denny?s Slam at over 1200! I?d have it more than once-a-week, but there are too many other good things I make!
I start with a small onion, sliced into rings, 1/4 of a green pepper, sliced, 1/4 of a red pepper, sliced, and a handful of quartered white mushrooms that I cook in a small covered saute pan with a tiny pat of butter, over a low-medium heat. You want the heat low enough so they don?t brown. They really steam in their own juices.
When the onions get limp and translucent, I add in 1/4 cup of egg substitute, like Eggbeaters, and let that continue to cook, covered over the low heat, while I toast the Publix low calorie bread.
I use a bit of Brummel and Brown spread on the toast, and then fold the omelette with 1/2 slice of Kraft fat-free cheddar inside. It?s terrific, and the whole thing is under 350 calories. I love my coffee in the morning, and I mix real half-and-half with fat-free to keep the rich flavor while trimming the calories, using Splenda to sweeten it, and the coffee is only about 30 calories a cup. This breakfast can?t be beat.
- Onion = 30 c.
- Pepper = 20 c.
- Mushrooms = 20 c.
- Butter = 20 c
- Egg substitute = 70 c.
- Cheese = 20 c.
- Bread = 81 c.
- Brummel and Brown spread = 20 c.
- Coffee with cream = 30 c.
For lunch, Joey D?s Chicago Dog: 262 calories.
We are in the habit of lunch at Joey D?s once a week, and their Chicago Dog is a delight, and only 262 calories! They use a real Vienna Beef Hot Dog with a poppy seed bun and all the traditional trimmings: pickle spear, chopped onion, pickle relish, mustard, tomato slice and celery salt. I?ll usually have a Diet Coke with it. At 262 calories, it?s a fraction of what other typical sandwich-type lunches are in restaurants. In one of my other articles, I showed a burger and shake that was 2000 calories! The Chicago Dog seems like a lot, but its all the low calorie condiments that gives it the advantage over the high fat add-ons that others use.
- Vienna Hot Dog = 120 c.
- Poppy seed bun = 110 c.
- Pickle spear = 3 c.
- Tomato slice = 3 c.
- Tbs chopped onion = 3 c.
- Tbs sweet relish = 20 c.
- tsp mustard = 3 c.
For dinner, grilled sirloin steak, fresh steamed asparagus and sour cream and chives mashed potatoes: 435 calories.
Many people think you have to give up beef to lose weight. Not true. In fact, one of the secrets of permanent weight loss is getting into the habit of eating everything you like in portions that will keep you at your desired weight for life. The meal above was just delicious, easy to fix, and came in at 435 calories. That brings the day to about 1000 calories, which will cause anyone to lose weight.
The steak is a 5 ounce sirloin. I buy a 2 pound sirloin when they go on sale and cut it into 4?5 ounce servings and freeze them in a gallon Ziplock bag. You can thaw one out when you want it, overnight in the fridge, on the counter for several hours or even in a small sealed Ziplock bag in some shallow room temperature water for 20 minutes or so. Grilling it is easy while the 5 ounces of asparagus is steaming for 9 minutes, and the 1/2 cup of Simply Potatoes mashed potatoes are in the microwave.
The buttery glaze you see on the asparagus is I Can?t Believe It?s Not Butter spray, really adds to the taste and palatability, and only 5 calories for 5 squirts
- 5 ounce sirloin steak = 270 c.
- 5 ounces asparagus = 40 c.
- 1/2 cup mashed potatoes = 120 c.
- 5 sprays, I Can?t Believe It?s Not Butter = 5 c.
Losing weight permanently can become easy!
Becoming successful at permanent weight loss takes work, but done right, it can become easy. It?s well worth it, believe me. I?ve maintained my ideal weight for thirty years now, after losing over 100 pounds, and it was the single most important thing that?s happened in my life. It changed everything for me, and it could for you. Read my book or listen to my audiobook to learn how.
Quit looking for easy, magical ways to solve your weight problem. As long as you do, you?ll avoid learning what you need to do to be successful, and you?ll stay overweight and unhappy like I was.
If you develop the right habits using behavioral techniques like I teach, it will eventually become easy, your new normal behavior, as natural and easy as the habits you have now, only they will keep you fit rather than making you fat. It?s not done with ?will power? or just ?making up your mind?. It?s done with the science of the mind.
William Anderson is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, the author of ?The Anderson Method of Permanent Weight Loss? (paperback and Kindle at Amazon, audiobook at Audible). He was obese until his early thirties when he found the solution. He lost 140 pounds, has kept it off for 35 years, and has taught thousands to successfully manage their weight.
Originally published at www.huffingtonpost.com on August 1, 2016.
