I was having lunch with a friend and she ordered what I did---pasta with chicken and vegetables, but she asked the server to bring her plate without the pasta. When I asked her why, she commented that she wanted to lose weight before her wedding so she could fit into her wedding dress.
Her wedding is six months from now. If she took it slow and easy and lost about a pound a week, she would be thirty pounds lighter by the wedding. Thirty pounds would be great for her and she would be a knock out in her dress. Research tells us repeatedly that the only way to lose weight permanently is to do it slow and steady.
Unfortunately, my friend wants it off by tomorrow so she is depriving herself of her favorite foods because she believes she will lose her excess weight quicker. She is trying the common practice of eliminating carbohydrates from her meals. Eliminating carbohydrates will result in weight loss because total calorie intake is less not because those calories came from carbohydrates. If you are eating fewer calories you will lose weight it does not matter what type of food the calories came from.
If only my friend would eat everything carbs, snacks and fats and just reduce her total portion size. Reducing quantity of food, and not entire food groups, will take the pounds off permanently. I’m afraid that even if she loses some weight, she will eventually cave into her cravings and binge on the carbohydrates she has been denying herself. That binging will result in guilt, negative self-judgment, and, of course, weight gain.
I understand this scenario because I have done it too many times to count. My answer---eat a wide variety of real foods, cook them simply, and dress them lightly. Keep snacks and desserts in your meals for enjoyment just eat them in reasonable amounts.
Cooking is easier than you think and you and your family are worth the time and effort it takes.
Simple cooking idea: If you need to thaw frozen meat quickly, place it in the sink and let it sit in cold water. Change the water every 5-10 minutes until it is thawed enough to handle.
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