1. Eating all the time. I typically eat at 6:00, 8:30, 10:30, 12:00, 2:30 and 5:00. Each mini-meal is between 150-300 calories. The only caloric items I consume after 5 pm is one Famous Amos cookie and a glass of red wine. Okay, maybe 2 glasses of wine if my husband and children have been grating on me.

2. Downsizing. The easiest way to enact portion control is to eat from smaller plates. We only eat off salad plates in my house. You naturally put smaller amounts of food on a tinier plate. *Tip: Unless you are hosting a dinner party anytime soon go ahead and pack your large plates away. Your only option becomes the small plate. You WILL eat less.

3.  Schedule, schedule, schedule. It’s simple physics, “a body at rest stays at rest a body in motion stays in motion.” I packed on a few pounds in August mainly due to the heat, and lack of activity during the long days of summer. Not so shocking is the fact that I lost those 3 pounds plus one more for good measure two weeks after the kids started school.  We are constantly on the move again and couldn’t be happier. Well, Tennison is actually still adjusting to the structure of VPK but mom couldn’t be happier.

4.  Dumping the conveniences. This is the old ‘take the stairs instead of the elevator’ scenario. I burn calories wherever possible. Whenever we are at the mall we all take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator. When we have lighter loads at the grocery store, I just grab a basket and fill it up. I give the kids each a bag and haul the rest of the groceries myself to the car which is usually parked far away. Putting the little monsters to work helps teach them that leading an active lifestyle encompasses more than just standard exercise.

5. Watching the liquids. This one is huge. It surprises me how many people still overload on sugary drinks. A big part of staying thin is drinking a ton of water every single day. Do not touch any sugared “vitamin” waters, creamed or whipped coffees and never let a soda hit your lips. I drink coffee in the morning with a little organic skim milk and water the rest of the day. Personally, I would rather preserve those precious calories for actual food versus a beverage.

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Written by Lea Barlow • 1 Comment