March 2014 Tips and Recipes

Marching Forward

It’s been a few months since you made that New Year’s resolution to lose weight. Hopefully you have seen some success. This month’s ezine is about marching forward and continuing that success.

I thought it would be fun to use MARCH as an acronym for this month’s tips; Measure, Adjust, React, Change, Hold.

Basically, measure your progress, make adjustments, react to the adjustments to make changes where needed and hold onto what’s working.

Measure

I’m sure you have gotten on the scale at least once or twice to see how it’s going. That’s great.

But now is the time to measure your success against your original plan. Are you losing what you had hoped? Is the progress slower or faster than you expected?

Knowing how you are doing based on the plan is important in order to make the right adjustments.

Adjust

If you are not losing the weight you had hoped for, then it’s time to make some adjustments. Perhaps your original plan was too aggressive or you didn’t factor in the little things life can throw at you.

Make adjustments to your plan and your day. Try working out 5 minutes longer each time to burn more calories. Eat less food more often instead of bigger meals less often.

Fill up on more veggies and less of the high calorie carbohydrates. Or maybe you are eating too little and need to add more foods.

Each person is unique when it comes to weight loss and you have to find what works for you. So make some small adjustments and keep measuring over the next few weeks to see how those adjustments are working.

React, Change and Hold

If the adjustments you made are not what you expected, then react quickly to these by making some additional changes.

Maybe you need to add an extra workout day or more strength training and less aerobics. Perhaps you are eating out more than you should and home cooked meals would be better for your weight loss plan.

Change the things that you know need improvement but hold onto the things you are doing right. Even the smallest of changes can get that scale moving in the right direction.

In order to know what to change and what to hold onto, keep a journal for a few weeks and compare that to your measurements. Remember that any progress is a great success.

So don’t give up and keep marching forward.

This leafy chicken salad and dressing recipe adds lots of fiber to this meal so you feel full longer.

Leafy Chicken Salad with Creamy Balsamic Dressing

What You Need for the Dressing:

• 1/2 cup no-salt-added great northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 Tbs balsamic vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, large
• 8 sweet basil leaves
• Pinch of salt

What You Need for the Salad:

• 5 oz mixed baby greens
• 1 Large chicken breast, broiled
• 1/4 large red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

How to Make It:

The directions below are for both the salad and the dressing.

1. For the dressing, puree beans, oil, vinegar, garlic, basil, and salt in blender until smooth (makes 1 cup).
2. Arrange greens among 4 plates. Top evenly with chicken, onion, and tomatoes.
3. Drizzle with 1/4 cup of the dressing.

Number of Servings: 4

Nutrition Information Per Serving

261 calories, 15.7g total fat, 2.4g saturated fat, 6g fiber, 17.3g protein, 14.6g carbohydrates, 157mg sodium, sugar 2g.

Org Pts 6
Pts Plus 7

All ingredients are included in the points calculation.

Exercise 4 Weight Loss 2 Achieve Fitness and Health

From your Diet Buddy