When people try to lose weight there are several obstacles they need to overcome. The first one is not being hungry all the time. There are so many factors that go into hunger. Is it real hunger? Is it emotional hunger? Are you just bored? Is there just too much food around? Also it could possibly just be thirst…something we take for granted in hot weather.
Who has time to analyze these feelings and questions when there is a bowl of m&ms in front of you and everyone else is eating them.
Part of the problem is having too much food around. Summer is a time of celebrations, barbecues, and intense heat. People work out in different ways or less because it is simply too hot and sometimes they eat in different ways. Less cooked food and more raw foods. Less indoor cooked foods and more outdoor cooked or grilled foods.
But one thing we do is eat more and eat with others. And this is to be cherished, but keep it to once a week or weekend. Don’t beat yourself up about it and try not to weigh yourself on Monday mornings 
. During the week – keep to home based or home made and packed, balanced (vegetable, small amount of protein, small amount of grain at each meal) meals. Keep meat to small portions of 3 ounces or less (a deck of cards or your iphone is the size to keep in mind) and vegetables or fruits as half your plate.
Sitting at my family’s barbecue last night I was presented with this dilemma. A plate of raw vegetables next to a bowl of m&ms, crab dip, 7 layer dip (who even knows what was in that) hummus, chips and salsa and endive with goat cheese.
This was all before dinner. Have you ever been presented with this problem? I knew coming was hamburgers and hot dogs with buns, corn, quinoa salad and baked beans. I insisted on the vegetables – but with so many good choices, how does one create balance. It is not so easy.
The key is to get those vegetables in there. First. Get full on the vegetables. The fiber is filling. There’s less room for all the good stuff.
Also I made two desserts. One fruit with whipped cream. Real whipped cream with tons of cholesterol and saturated fat. The thing is – you can’t have more than a tablespoon of that stuff. I mean, you can, but its hard to really engorge on it. Sure, the fruit alone would have been better. But if you are going to a bbq, make sure you bring the fruit…and eat it.
Insist on bringing vegetables to a bbq. They go great on the grill or bbq them along with your family. Zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, portabello mushrooms – they all go great on the grill marinated in a bit of olive oil, herbs and balsamic vinegar. Enjoy and focus on those fiber containing veggies for fullness.
I would personally never purchase m&ms…but when presented with them, its hard to say no. Count out 10 and eat them one at a time.
