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This is a continuation of our last topic of tips and tricks to help you with your Calorie Counting endeavors.
Get Extra Sleep. Lack of sleep exerts stress on your body, which spikes your Cortisol, which triggers your hypothalamus (hunger center in your brain) to feel hungry. And not just hungry, but you’ll crave “Survival Food”, stuff that’s high in sugar and fat. And the Force is STROOOOONG with the hypothalamus. A lack of sleep will directly result in overindulge in poor food choices. Not to mention the myriad other problems created by a lack of sleep. Most of us by now have at least heard about the likely link between poor sleep habits and the development of Alzheimer’s disease. So please….get some rest.
Add Extra Calories Burned. Ok….so you’re hungry and you’re out of calories or are running really low. You had a bad morning and consumed all but 400 calories coming into dinner. What to do? A good calorie-tracking app will allow you to input your work and give you caloric credit. Feeling really hungry but ran out of calories? Earn yourself some “extra credit” and get moving. Go for a jog, hike, or walk. Bike ride. Even clean your garage. You can even “Pre-Check” your app and see what exercise fits your mood and what you’ll earn for it. Maybe it’s too late to jog, but you are ok with a 30 minute walk.
Calorie Scouting. Look up a restaurants menu ahead of time and identify what you can eat on their menu so that you’ll know what to order before getting there. This REALLY helps when you’re going for a social gathering where it’s REALLY easy to develop a case of the Ahh-What-The-Hecks.
Pick a Freak-Out Number. So…you’ve hit your goal weight. It’s very easy to quickly backslide and we’re all going to put weight back on over time. Our bodies are designed to carry a little extra weight as an emergency reserve. Its left over from the Caveman days where we, as a species, would routinely cycle between feast and famine. So, once you’ve reached your target number, give yourself a buffer zone to ebb and flow. But set a maximum number that will cause you to “Freak Out”. Mine is 220. I try my best to keep my fluctuating between 205 and 210. But life happens and I’ll drift up over time.
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