2015 UPMC Weight RaceTips to stay on track

How to eat fewer calories

In general, you’ll want to replace high-calorie foods with low-calories foods. That way, you’ll get adequate nutrition and you won’t feel hungry. Reading labels is a good way to become more aware of what you’re eating. Once you know how many calories are in one food versus another, it’s easier to make better choices. If you love certain high-calorie foods, you don’t have to give them up. Just have smaller portions. And when you go to restaurants, see if someone at your table wants to share an entrée. Or eat half and get the other half wrapped to go. You can eat it for a meal the next day.Keep in mind that beverages like juice, soda, sports drinks, and coffee drinks can all pack a lot of calories. Be sure to read labels so you’re counting those toward your daily total. Drink plenty of water, which is all natural and calorie-free. Finally, eat at regular intervals so you don’t get too hungry and then overeat. Planned snacks can help you stay on track. If it’s not time for a snack, try munching on vegetables or fresh fruit, which are naturally low in calories. Or get busy doing something else. After 10 minutes, you may forget about the snack.

Get off to a strong start!

There are two things you need to do right away to set yourself up for success during the Weight Race: Eat fewer calories and be more active.

Easy ways to get moving

Eating fewer calories is only part of the recipe for success. You also want to burn more calories by increasing your physical activity. If you don’t really like “working out,” don’t worry. You don’t have to break a sweat. Just walking more throughout the day will do. Here are some ideas:

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.

• Park further away so you can walk to your destination.

• Walk at lunch or during a break at work.

• Walk before or after dinner.

• Walk at a park, mall, or track.

To begin the race with a strong start, choose a way to eat fewer calories today, and identify how you can add 10 minutes of activity to your day.

There are many ways to succeed at weight loss. One key principle is to balance calories in (amount you eat) with calories out (physical activity). One strategy that doesn’t tend to work is dieting.

What’s wrong with dieting? Say the word “diet,” and chances are that you think of a short-term plan that you go “on” and “off.” It often involves a theme or a gimmick and usually restricts certain foods or food groups. You may lose weight initially because eliminating entire categories of food means you’re eating less. But it doesn’t take long until you feel deprived, hungry, and even irritable. What happens next? Overeating (even bingeing) followed by feelings of failure and a desire to “diet” to make things right again.

Ditch the diet mentality

How can you break this self-defeating cycle? Don’t go on a diet. Instead, focus on small, positive changes you can maintain for the long term. For example, instead of vowing to completely cut out sugar, you might choose to replace the cookies you have at lunch with a piece of fruit. Tackle one behavior at a time. Tailor your goals to your lifestyle, food preferences, and favorite activities. And if every now and then, you really want a treat, go ahead! Enjoy every bite, then focus on healthy choices the rest of the day.

Tackling a goal like losing weight is much easier when it’s a team effort. If you’re not on a team, identify other sources of support, such as friends, family or co-workers. These people can help you stay motivated and offer a little help when you need it.Here are some ways to make the most of group support.Make a point of talking to your teammates to offer advice and share experiences. Discuss the topic of the week. Ask teammates about their biggest challenges and successes and what they do to stay on track. Think about ways you can support each other as a team. Ideas include:

• Share healthy recipes.

• Bring in samples of great low-calorie foods for teammates to taste.

Get to know your team

• Share tips about fitting exercise into a busy schedule.

• Invite a team member to join you for a walk or other activity.

• Remind each other to weigh in.

• Offer a word of support when someone is discouraged. Listen when they need to vent.

• Encourage co-workers to bring healthy snacks and foods to share instead of candy, chips, and other high-calories foods.

Celebrate each team member’s successes — even the smallest ones. Building this type of team support will help all of you get through obstacles and challenges along the way — to a strong and proud finish!

Over the last three decades, portion sizes have increased — in restaurants, grocery stores, and people’s kitchens. For example, if you check the nutrition information for a single serving of classic lasagna, it’s about 300 calories. But the portion served is typically 750 to 850 calories. This is often described as “portion distortion.” And portion distortion is common cause of weight gain.One of the easiest ways to lose weight is to eat smaller portions, which can cut hundreds of calories by the end of the day. To learn more about how portion sizes have changed over the years, take these fun quizzes. Quiz IQuiz II

To help you smart-size your portions, follow these tips:• Use a measuring cup to see the exact amount for

one serving of cereal, chips, ice cream, or other foods that you eat. There’s no need to measure your food forever – just do this long enough to recognize typical serving sizes.

• Serve food from a plate or bowl instead of eating straight out of a large box or bag.

Prevent portion distortion

• Avoid eating in front of the TV or while busy with other activities. Pay attention to what you are eating. Eat slowly so your brain can get the message when your stomach is full.

• Try using smaller dishes, bowls, and glasses. This way, when you fill up your plate or glass, you will be eating and drinking less.

• At restaurants, order a half-portion, share your meal, order an appetizer as a main meal, or take half of the meal home for the next day.

• Beware of “value meals” and “combos” that offer a larger portion for just a little extra money. It’s not really a value if you end up with more food and calories than you need to stay healthy!

One of the most effective ways to succeed in the Weight Race is to track the two things that impact your weight — what you eat and how much you exercise. By tracking your eating and exercise habits, you can:

• Increase awareness of your current behavior

• See where improvements can be made

• Be motivated to reach new goals

There are many tracking methods available, from pen and paper, to an online food and exercise diary, to a high-tech wearable activity tracker. It doesn’t matter which method you choose. If you want to do it on your computer or with an app, your options include:

• My Fitness Pal

• RunKeeper

• MapMyFitness

• Lose It!

• Moves

• And many more

Track your progress

If you’re interested in a wearable activity tracker, your options include:

• Fitbit ($60-$150)

• Jawbone ($50-$180)

• Nike Fuel Band ($100-$150)

• And many more

If you choose to buy a wearable tracker (or already have one), you can register it at MyHealth OnLine by using the UPMC Digital Device Connector. You can connect a device or app to your Myhealth OnLine account, or you can log in and manually report your totals.

Lifestyle changes seem so appealing and manageable in the abstract. But how do you turn the initial passion to adopt healthier habits into routines that last long term? Simply stated, it takes practice to develop any skill or habit. At first, it’s not easy to move out of your comfort zone to try something new. It may be inconvenient to add a workout (or even a short walk) to an already busy day. If you tend to skip breakfast or lunch, it can be hard to make the time to fit a meal in. The road to successful weight management involves building new habits that become so routine you don’t have to think about them. Think about the new habits you want to create and break them into smaller steps. For example, if you want to eat a healthy breakfast, what changes do you need to make? Get up earlier? Plan the night before what you’re going to have? Then practice this new behavior until it becomes routine.

Practice makes perfect

When you repeatedly practice, you can build positive habits in areas such as:

• Shopping for food

• Cooking meals

• Eating portion sizes that are “just right”

• Reaching fitness goals

• Snacking on healthy foods

Keep it simple, start small, and practice your new habits. Now that’s the way to create lifestyle changes that last a lifetime!

Physical activity is one of the most powerful weight management tools you have.* Studies show that active people are more successful at losing weight and keeping it off. So why aren’t more people taking advantage of this strategy?The number one excuse tends to be not enough time. But people who are physically active don’t have an extra hour in their day. They find the time by making exercise a priority. Here are some ways to help you make time for physical activity.

Make a plan. Put a workout on your calendar; give it the same importance as any other appointment.

Have a backup plan. Meetings run late, traffic happens. Life will interfere with your exercise schedule. What will you do if you can’t make your yoga class or walk at lunch? Can you go for a walk after work, or pop in an exercise DVD?

How to make time for exercise

Find five minutes. We all have days when we truly can’t exercise, for whatever reason. If you’re having one of those days, find a few minutes to go on a quick walk or take the stairs. It will help keep your momentum going if being active is a new habit you are trying to develop.

Practice the Rule of 10. When you just don’t feel like being physically active, make a promise to yourself that you will just do 10 minutes of physical activity. Chances are that you’ll keep going once you hit the 10-minute mark.

*Talk to your doctor before starting a new exercise program.

As restaurants respond to the growing demand for healthy options, it’s getting easier to stay on track and enjoy a delicious meal. Still, you need to be strategic when dining out. Follow these tips to enjoy a delicious meal and keep your calories under control.

• Eat light beforehand if you know you’ll be dining out for a larger meal. If the restaurant has a website, consider reviewing the menu and nutrition information before you go.

• Scan the menu for icons or logos that identify healthier items.

• Think of dining out as an opportunity to enjoy vegetables, salad, or seafood that you don’t normally prepare yourself.

• Look for low-fat, baked, or grilled items. Many restaurants honor requests. So don’t be afraid to ask questions about how food is prepared or to request alternatives that may not be on the menu.

• If the side dishes are heavier than you’d like, ask about substitutes. You might be able to have a side salad or vegetable instead of chips or a baked potato instead of French fries.

Make restaurant meals work for you

• Ask that any dressing be served on the side, so you can control the amount you consume.

• Go easy on high-fat items like salad dressing, sour cream, butter, cream sauces, chips, and fries.

• Beware of large portions. Sometimes one order is enough to serve two or three people. Share an entree with a friend, or take half the meal home to enjoy another time.

• Be careful with the “extras”: Cheese can add 50 to 100 calories to a food, and a dinner roll adds 100 to 150 calories.

• Beverages can easily add hundreds of extra calories to your meal. Order the smallest drink size, consider the lowest calorie drinks, or ask for a glass of water.

• Fast eaters often are overeaters, while slow eaters tend to eat less and are still satisfied.

• Eat slowly. It takes 20 minutes for your brain to get the message from your stomach that you are no longer hungry. Enjoy the flavors, the atmosphere, and the experience!

When making any lifestyle change, it’s important to have support from the people closest to you. But keep in mind that everyone’s preferences are different, so your friends and family won’t automatically know what you need. For example, some people may appreciate reminders to stay on track; others may find this annoying. How can you get the type of support you want? Ask for it!First, decide whom you want to share your plans with. Tell a teammate, family member, or friend what he or she can do to help you succeed. Be specific, with suggestions like: “Let me vent when I’ve had a hard day.” “Give me encouragement when I’ve slipped up.” “Be my walking buddy.” Ask for whatever help you might need.

Get the support you need

• Online groups and social media can be great forms of support and inspiration, providing a chance to connect with others as well as share tips and advice.

• A health coach is another source of friendly and professional support to help you reach your lifestyle goals. Call 1-800-807-0751 to talk to a health coach.

When you build a circle of support, you have a safety net of people to help you reach your goals and maintain your success.

Having trouble actually doing all of the healthy behaviors that you have committed to? There’s no way around it: Eating healthy and being physically active take time. To eat a healthy meal, you have to have the ingredients on hand. That requires making a list and shopping for food. Then you have food prep and kitchen cleanup. Exercising requires making room in your schedule and packing workout gear. And if you’re recording food and exercise habits, that takes time too! Weight management overlaps with time management in many ways. If you run into challenges that you just can’t seem to solve, consider how to organize and plan your time more effectively.Examples of time-saving strategies include:

• Keep food on hand for an on-the-go breakfast: a granola bar, a piece of fruit, and some nuts, for example.

• Clean and cut up raw veggies once or twice a week; keep them within easy reach in your fridge.

• Keep portable, healthy snacks in your bag, desk, or car.

I have no time!

• Create routines that work with your schedule; try simple stretches when you roll out of bed in the morning or take a family walk after dinner instead of watching TV.

• Find a fitness buddy even if it means just checking in with each other by phone.

• Save time tracking food and activity by using a mobile app or wearable tracker.

These are just a few ideas that may or may not fit your needs. Use these ideas and principles to select, tweak, or design strategies that apply to your situation. You can find additional resources online. Try googling a phrase like “time for fitness” and you’ll find lots of tips and ideas, some of which are bound to work for you.Remember that time management, like any skill, requires some practice before you become good at it. The more you consciously practice, the easier it becomes.

Sometimes creating more order in your surroundings can make lifestyle changes easier to maintain. In other words, getting organized can help you achieve your goals. Here are some strategies to try:Make things easier. Figure out ways to easily find and locate the things you need — snacks, sneakers, rain gear, etc. You might need to rearrange the kitchen or rethink your closet and storage areas. Clear out the clutter. Remove the extras that get in your way. Sometimes you need to toss, give away, donate, or recycle to optimize your space.Organize your fitness gear. Keep what you need within easy reach such as a water bottle, headphones, hand weights, and a gym bag. You might want to stash a pair of sneakers in your car or at work so they are there when you need them.

Organize your way to success

Prep food in batches. There are lots of ways to do this. Ideas include:

• Cook on weekends, then portion and freeze for the week.

• Use the crockpot to cook a large amount, then divide into single portions and freeze for easy access later.

• Make a large salad or pot of soup once a week, and divide into servings or containers that you can take to work.

• Plan for leftovers – and freeze the extras right away in freezer bags.

Look for shortcuts. Time-savers include precut or prewashed veggies, kitchen tools that make food prep faster, a labeling method that’s easy to maintain. There’s always a better way to do anything — seek and you will find! The idea behind these tips is to work smarter, not harder — to create an environment that supports your success!

For ongoing success in weight management, it’s important to stay focused on the positive. What we tell ourselves can be powerful, so it’s important to be aware of your thoughts. Here are three ways to think positive.

1. Keep the focus on solutions instead of problems. Positive goals focus on what to do, instead of what not to do. Here are some examples:Negative goal: I am not going to eat evening snacks

while I watch TV.Positive goal: I will do some stretching exercises in

the evening while I watch TV.

Negative goal: I am going to cut out the junk food while at work.

Positive goal: I am going to take fresh fruit, a cheese stick, and some almonds to work daily for healthy snacks.

Negative goal: I am not going to eat out in restaurants anymore!

Positive goal: When I dine out, I will order water (or other calorie-free drink) and take half of the food home for another meal.

Positive thoughts make a difference

2. Beware of that negative critical voice inside that says: “That was a failure.” “I blew my diet.” Or “I hate my body.” Actively change those negative thoughts as soon they arise. You can counter negative thoughts with positive self-talk such as …

• I am learning and growing as I go.

• I can go anywhere I want to go, one step at a time.

• It doesn’t matter as long as I eat well the rest of the day.

• I will persist until I succeed.

• People are glad to support me.

• The best things in life take time and patience.

• I will be gentle with myself if I get stuck.

• The more I practice, the easier it becomes.

3. Pat yourself on the back for the good choices you make, no matter how small. Surround yourself with encouraging friends – their support can go a long way toward long-term positive outcomes!

Copyright 2015 UPMC Health Plan Inc. All rights reserved.WR TIP SHEET BK 15WP0045 (SHD) 1/15/15