Joy Bauer, nutritionist and founder of The Joy Fit Club, featured over at The Today Show, takes live calls, offering advice of how handle the dieting process.
When asked about how to motivate yourself Joy suggested the way to keep your focus is to keep a food journal, jotting down any issues you think you might encounter during the day. Positive self-talk is very important for encouragement and confidence. Give yourself non-food rewards like a pedicure when you reach a small goal like losing five pounds. Save yourself a fun food every day in the late afternoon so you have something to look forward to having. Denying yourself just creates that backlash effect. Portion out about 150 calories of a favorite food like cookies or ice cream and enjoy!
When asked about hitting that dreaded plateau when the weight won't budge off your body Joy suggested shaving off 100 - 200 calories per day of what you have already been doing. When the body gets smaller it requires fewer calories and will not continue to lose weight. Taking up weight training is great for getting off that plateau since building muscle mass and a great cardio will cause you to burn more calories. Another strategy is to close the kitchen at night after dinner since most women tend to continue snacking at night. This will help your body burn calories before you go to bed and your body slows down digestion to go into sleep and repair mode. Try treating yourself to a favorite warm herbal tea to satisfy any mild hunger.
When asked about the grain Quinoa she responded that it is the new superfood full of fiber, magnesium and iron. One cup of quinoa gives us eight grams of protein. It is a dense food full of minerals and protein that many impoverished societies around the world use to survive. It is cooked delicious with some chicken broth and can be used as a side dish like rice. Quinoa is awesome mixed in with salad greens like a pilaf. You can even make it like a breakfast porridge it's that versatile.
When asked about what foods to eat to get glowing skin as we grow older Joy reminded us to focus upon beta-carotin vegetables. That's those orange and dark green veggies like sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach and winter squashes. For great skin be sure to include those Omega fatty acids like you get from salmon and other similar fish along with flax seeds.
When asked about how to diet off belly fat Joy suggested to a woman of average size to keep her calories down to about 1200 - 1500 a day. Eating a lot of non-starchy vegetables, fruits, berries and air popped popcorn are all great to help reduce belly fat. What else should we watch that are dense foods full of calories but healthy for us? Here's a list to keep in moderation: dried fruit, jams, nuts and seeds, nut butters, granola, salad dressing, olive oil and avocado.
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