A blog came out about a research study that came out a couple of years ago about DIET STRATEGY!

The research was on a few hundred overweight adults who had just been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and divided them into two groups.

Both groups were told that they would need to make changes to their diet in order to lose weight and manage their disease. They were told to limit their total caloric intake and instructed on things like portion sizes.

Beyond that, however, the two groups got different instructions.

Group 1 :

They were taught how to limit their intake of fat to no more than 30 percent of calories and to keep their saturated fat under 10 percent. They were also told to avoid sweets and refined grains.  Group 1 was told what not to eat.

*This is the standard prescription for a reduced-fat, low-calorie diet.

Lucky Group 2:

They were told to increase their intake of vegetables, fish, and poultry, to choose whole grains, and to use olive oil as their primary source of fat.  Group 2 was told what to eat more of.

*This is the standard Mediterranean diet prescription.

Four years later, Group 2 had lost more weight and was also only half as likely to need medication to control their blood sugar.

The group that focused on the positives rather than the negatives (eat more of vs. what not to eat) might be a much better strategy for handling that inner child who wants their dessert!

Instead of telling yourself or your child that they can’t have dessert until they finish their “healthy” meal, start buying things that are tasty and fun that are healthy as your desired treat.

When you go to the market, you or your child or both, can pick out seven different kinds of luscious fruit — a different one for every night of the week! The more exotic or unusual, the better. Having an apple every night after diner wouldn’t be that exciting. but different berries, etc. each night can be exciting.

Have different kinds of vegetables at dinner — each prepared in a tasty way (grilled, sauteed, etc) — which completely takes the sting out of eliminating the bread, rolls and other minimally-nutritious starches.  I love asparagus grilled with olive oil and garlic.  So tasty and doesn’t take long to do.

And instead of going out for pizza, Italian or Chinese food and exhausting your willpower on not eating all the pasta — or heading to a burger bar and drooling over my the  fries  — I try to find enticing restaurants that are more in line with my dietary strategy, such as a tapas place, a place with excellent salad choices or a salad bar, or healthy chicken or turkey choices as in a Mediterranean restaurant. 

So, the moral of the story.  Learn some variety, learn to cook different ways and different vegetables, learn about different fruits, be creative and experimental and try new things and find new restaurants and try the healthy foods and find the ones that you love.

I am going to include a picture of my BBQ meal from the other night.  My husband wanted BBQ.  So, I had BBQ meat and grilled asparagus and steamed broccoli and a side salad.  I was full and outside of some, but not a lot of sugary BBQ sauce, my meal was very low in carbs and I didn’t gain any weight.  I split the meat with my husband so it wasn’t too much.  A little tri-tip and a few baby back ribs.  No rolls, no fries or onion rings, no appetizers.  This was plenty food (especially with the salad).

Now, come on, seriously…….doesn”t that look good?  Diet food does not have to be awful!

You have to change your old bad habits. If you want to be thin, this is what you have to do and it isn’t hard.  FOCUS on the positive!  New delicious veggies, fruits, meats, eggs and cheeses!  Find some protein bars that you like.  Stay away from the chips, potatoes, fried and breaded/wheat-filled things.  Eat small and often, every 3-4 hours.  Drink sugar-free liquids.  The weight will fall off.

ideas taken from:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/monica-reinagel-ms-ldn-cns/diet-tricks_b_2069087.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003