Weight Loss Tip #6

Eat no more than one carb-heavy meal per day.

I love carbs.  Really, who doesn’t?  Bread, pasta, rice, pancakes, tortillas, French fries, baked goods, etc. – these are the foods that make the world go round if you ask me. But eating too many carb-heavy foods can make losing weight difficult, since these foods can pack a lot of calories that don’t necessarily keep you satisfied.

Here’s what I do to keep my carb intake in check:

When deciding what to eat, I think about what I’ve eaten earlier and what I’ll be eating later. If my previous meal was waffles, or my next meal will be a pizza, I choose something that’s mostly vegetables/fruits and lean protein. Over the course of every day, I enjoy several servings of carbohydrate-based foods, but I make a point not to eat them at every meal.

Here’s what that looks like in real life:

• I have a lunch meeting at a sandwich shop, so for breakfast I make a smoothie with plain yogurt, milk, fruit, and nut butter. For dinner I have a big salad with a little meat, fish, or beans.
• We’re having people over for dinner, and even though I don’t have a menu planned yet I’m guessing it will involve some indulgences, so I have oatmeal for breakfast, veggie soup and cottage cheese for lunch, and if I’m hungry between meals I snack on vegetables with hummus.
• We went for brunch this morning (I probably ordered a bagel with lox and cream cheese), so I have fruit for a late afternoon snack and make a veggie-heavy dinner.
• I made banana bread yesterday, and have been eating it whenever I want a snack, so in between my snacks I’m avoiding other kinds of bread and refined carbs.

And…my #1 recommendation is:

• Don’t “give up” carbs. You will feel deprived and end up giving in, at which point you’ll regain any weight you lost. So you’ll have suffered for nothing. So eat what you love – just in smaller quantities!