Entries from January 2008 ↓

Last time I spoke about why I think diets don’t work and why I like to go with what I call a meal plan to either lose weight or maintain.  I don’t think it is very hard to develop a meal plan.  It takes the ability to read and understand the nutrition labels as well as the ability to control portions.  Portion control is key!  By averaging 300 calories 5 to 6 times a day (depending on how much you have to lose and your current body makeup) coupled with exercise, you will kick your metabolism into overdrive.  There are some foods you can easily find in your local grocery store.  Eggs, Old Fashion Oatmeal (not the flavored packet kind that is loaded with sugar) and Peanut Butter all have parts in my Meal Plan.  Peanut Butter makes a great mid morning and mid afternoon snack.  Two tablespoons by itself does the trick for me.  People I work with make fun of me for it, but it works.  It keeps me satiated so I’m not hitting the vending machine for a bag of chips.  It is also a food that is balanced in protein, fat and carbohydrates.  But remember, portion control.  I can’t stress that enough.  The only downside to Peanut Butter is that it has unsaturated fat, so too much Peanut Butter can work against you.  You may have to cut back on the size of the portions you normally have for Lunch and Dinner.  Dinner for me is actually my smallest meal.  By that time of day, I’m not usually very hungry.  And what about the person on the go?  There is one fast food place I will recommend, and that is Subway.  I know, I know, when you hear Subway you think of Jared…please stop laughing.  But when I was developing my Meal Plan 3 years ago, I found that several of their 6″ inch sandwiches fit in perfectly and there was a Subway right around the corner from where I work.  They post all the nutritional information online, so you can see not just how many calories, but all the nutritional information.  One word of advice, be careful of the condiments, they can be a killer.  Till next time, The Average Joe

I’ve tried a lot of diets.  Low fat, low carb, counting calories, you name, I’ve probably tried it.  The problem with those is that they don’t work for the long term.  I did the low carb diet just before it became the craze and carbs became evil to everyone.  It worked.  I lost a good deal of weight.  I started at 300 pounds and got down to about 225.  Great!  The only problem was it wasn’t sustainable.  Just as I was starting to feel real good, my knees weren’t hurting and I had to buy a whole new wardrobe, I started to slip up and my weight slowly started to inch up.  There are two problems with Diets that I see: 1) They are not sustainable, and 2) People think they just have to do them for a short period of time and then can go back to eating the way they were.  That is why diets fail.  A few years back I became acquainted with one of the personal trainers at my local gym.  Through conversations with him I came to the understanding of what I like to call a Meal Plan.  It’s a way of eating and structuring meals so that you lose or maintain body weight, but also feel satiated.  By feeling satiated you don’t have any cravings and don’t feel deprived so the thoughts of “when I get off this thing…” don’t pop in your head.  For me, eating 5 - 6 small meals a day works best.  Now, I know you are going to say that seems like a lot, but remember I said small.  Portion control is key.  No more than 300 calories per meal.  Next time I’ll go into how to find foods that are easy and taste good, but also fit easily into a Meal Plan.  Thanks for reading, The Average Joe 

I’ve noticed that over the past while, I’ve been getting nutrition and fitness tips from family and friends.  I’m no personal trainer, I’m no certified nutritionist.  I’m just like most people out there.  I go to the gym regularly, but I’m no gym rat.  I’m usually there only 45 minutes or so, not 2 hours.  I guess the reason is that, because I have struggled with my weight for most of my life, but in recent years have spent a good deal of time researching diets, fitness plans, supplements etc.  I’ve tried some and have had great success with some, and have gotten no results with others.  I’ve decided to take what I’ve learned and publish it in a way the average person can understand, and to create a discussion.  Please come back often.Thanks for reading,The Average Joe  I am no doctor or nutritionist or personal trainer, so before you start taking any kind of supplement or starting any kind of fitness plan, make sure to consult your doctor.