My Other Weight Loss Secret – Part IV

Dinner Time

When I am approaching dinner time I am usually becoming more hungry. Mainly because I reducing snacking in the late afternoon. Sometimes I just eat cereal with fruits again for dinner, but I usually try to make it a ‘normal’ dinner. Weekdays are different from Weekend days, but overall it works out good enough for me (I am easy). I eat a lot of salads for dinner. The right mix is filling and healthy at the same time. The good thing with salad is that you can combine it with many other items without going overboard. The only rule of thumb is that salads makes 50-60% of the main amount of food I am having for dinner. If you are eager to lose weight, bump it up to 75-80%. I often mix some lean ham or turkey breast into a salad. Again, use a light dressing or even fat-free. I prefer light dressings due to the better taste. As non-salad foods I use steamed veggies, eggs, English muffins or toast. Sometimes I grill some pork sirloin and eat 2 pieces of that. I keep that in moderation though and make sure there is not much fat attached to the meat. I do not like grilled Chicken that much as it is so dry usually, but depending on your preferences you mix around what you like. Stay away from fatty meats and sauces. Fried food should be a no-no during this time as well.

Late evening snacks are usually bad to have. I try not to eat anything after 8.30 PM. If I need to snack I might eat some sweet Cherry Tomatoes, a banana, some Mandarins/Cuties, water melon, or one serving of veggie chips (one serving = 30 chips = 130 calories). Chips do not happen often though – I am pretty disciplined with that to not spoil the results I am hoping to see. 3-4 times a week I am adding a 30-60 minute walk to my daily routine to either allow for a more conventional dinner or to increase my calorie burning for the day. Business lunch at a restaurant also changes what I am doing at night. I assume that I am ending the day with around 1200-1400 calories total.

And that is it. I don’t drink sodas other than diet or I drink water or green tea. I don’t drink coffee. Again, this is mainly how I go through the initial weight loss phase before switching to maintaining weight. I only really have to go back to this when being sick, travelling or after winters where you can’t do as much outside activities and I put on some pounds.

Following these rules for 4-6 week I am seeing good results after about 2 weeks. The first 2 weeks are pretty stagnant as I am swapping fat for muscles. After that I am seeing the pounds dropping fairly quick. Why am I building up muscle at all? The more muscles you have the more it increases your metabolism and fat burning. The good thing with this diet approach is that it is usually longer lasting and it includes exercise which comes with its own set of health benefits. For me more exercise and good eating go hand in hand for a successful diet. Once I reach my target range I have more muscles build up that help to cover the calories that come with a more conventional meal and it is so much easier to maintain weight then.

Read the first part of my best working diet here and then the second part of me dieting. Part III of my successful weight loss diet might be of interest for you as well.