Daniel Lubetzky

1.

Don’t skip meals!
When you don’t eat your body actually goes into “starvation mode” and your metabolism slows. If you skip a meal your chances of overeating dramatically increase and brain function such as memory, concentration, and mood can suffer.

2.

Eat breakfast like a KING…
Someone that lived a KIND lifestyle once said “Eat breakfast like a KING, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper”. Eating a complete, well-balanced meal in the morning jump starts your metabolism to calorie-burning mode. If you do not eat until lunch time, you body will not burn as many calories as you would during the morning period. In fact, research indicates that people who do not eat breakfast are more likely to be overweight than those who eat a proper breakfast. Breakfast is a great way to boost energy levels, brain power and help with weight control.

3.

Watch your caloric intake
Understanding your calorie needs is important for weight control and can help with your meal planning. Depending on your weight and activity level, you should eat somewhere between 1500-2000 each day. Click here to find the caloric intake that is right for you.

4.

Keep portions in check
Most of the time, we crave more than what our bodies really require. No matter what the food, portions do matter! Meals should include a protein serving the size of a deck of cards, plenty of veggies with small amounts of healthy fats and swap out the refined grains for whole grains. Limit “unhealthy” saturated fat and trans fat. It usually takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to signal to your brain that you are “full” so try not to eat until you get that “full” feeling. That’s a sign that you overate! Click here for more information on portion sizes.

5.

Avoid empty calories.
Look for nutritionally dense foods where you get a bang for your buck. These are foods high in vitamins and nutrients compared to their calorie content. Examples: lean meats and fish, beans, whole grains, vegetables and fruits.

6.

Know your fats:
Look for foods high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. These are good for your heart, make you feel full and promote weight control. Those Mediterraneans are really on to something…
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=532

7.

Drink water!
Even better, drink water before you eat and drink throughout the day. A lot of the time when you think you are hungry, you are actually just dehydrated. Remember caffeine is a diuretic so if you drink a cup of coffee, you should drink more water in order to stay hydrated!

8.

Get some exercise
Sure going to the gym and getting a good sweat is great, but there are other ways to get some exercise if you can’t do it like a gym rat. Take the stairs, park further away when you are at the grocery store or the movies, take up a hobby like dancing or biking, plan weekends to involve some sort of activity.

9.

Sleep well
You should get at least 7-8 hours each night. When we don’t get enough sleep we get cranky, makes it hard to focus and we are more prone to eat unhealthy foods. Lack of sleep may disrupt natural hormonal balances, increasing appetite and triggering overeating.

10.

Be KIND!
Research shows that happy people are healthier and giving to others actually can improve your overall health. Do an unexpected KIND act for someone: offer to carry someone’s heavy bag, let someone go in front of you in line, give up your middle seat on an airplane. Stepping out of your comfort zone feels good, it will make someone’s day and yours too. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/health/01well.html?em