SPRINGER: Renovate diet before ending it

By now your New Year's resolutions may or may not be going strong.

For most people, their resolutions have fallen by the wayside. Instead of telling yourself what a failure you've been, choose a kinder and gentler approach. Renovate your dieting habits instead of scrapping them all together.

To lose fat you must expend more calories than you take in. Performing some simple math might point the way toward your lack of weight loss.

Reducing calories alone is not the best way to lose and maintain your weight. Exercise must be part of the equation. By exercising every day you can still lose weight without having to eat only rabbit food.

If possible, spread your meals out during the day. If you are skipping breakfast then you are starting the day with a sluggish metabolism. Eating even a small snack, 300 calories or less, in the morning will rev up your metabolism.

I hear many complaints that diets that ask you to eat five to six times a day are too tough to stick to and ask you to eat too much food.

Let's be real about this. Many of us eat during the day and inhale food, like a handful of pretzels or a couple of cookies, that we simply forget that we even ate. Cut down on indiscriminate eating and eat with a purpose. Plan out your snacks ahead of time.

Most of the new diets require eaters to limit and cut back on their vegetables. Vegetables are still an excellent source of fiber and nutrients and contain little to no fat. Fill up on vegetables and monitor your intake of fattier foods like cheese and bacon.

Fight fat with fiber. Fiber, a quasi-nutrient devoid of calories, absorbs water, providing bulk and creating a feeling of fullness which helps stave off hunger pangs.

Fiber also keeps blood insulin levels in check, which is a big factor in controlling body fat. Try to get 30 grams or so of fiber a day. If necessary, add a fiber supplement to your diet especially if you are eating an abundance of protein.

Protein is the hot nutrient that is helping people shed fat that previously wouldn't budge. Be sure to stick to lean protein sources and do not go overboard. Regardless of what you have read, protein can be stored as fat just like any other calories eaten in excess.

Fat is no longer shunned as a diet no-no. However, make sure you are choosing healthy unsaturated fats like those found in extra-virgin olive oil, plain whole nuts, avocados and soy. Fat creates a feeling of fullness that keeps hunger pangs at bay.

Reduce your caloric intake slowly. Cutting your normal intake of food in half will only lead to "cheating" on your diet and more than likely crankiness.

Slowly reduce your food by limiting portion sizes or choosing one food to eliminate. Say for example you have a burger meal each day.

Instead of cutting your favorite food out completely, instead, skip the fries and then the soft drink. These two items alone could easily add up to 500 calories a day of unnecessary nutrients.

Do not forget to drink your water. Even during the winter months, water is an important nutrient that flushes fat and toxins out of our bodies will lubricating our skin and joints.

Water is the secret diet fuel that many long-term "losers" have continued to drink. Cut back on excessive sodas or fatty coffee drinks; these liquid treats can be loaded with sugar and excess calories.

Kim Springer and her husband, Mike, are certified personal trainers and owners of Springer Training. They can be reached at 233-9442 or at their Web site www.springertraining.com.


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