Does this ever happen to you?

It’s midday, lunch is over and done with and there is still an hour or two before dinner. You’re working away at your job, busy with school or with the kids when you start feeling tired and begin to lose focus on what you’re doing. Or maybe you get a headache and the “little things” begin to get on your nerves.

This is what is known as the midday slump and it’s usually caused by a rapid drop in blood sugar. Combine this with a lack of proper rest and you have a recipe for weight gain.

What you do between the hours of 2pm and 4pm can have a dramatic impact on your weight loss efforts. There is a twofold effect that happens:

1.) When the slump hits your first instinct is to eat, eat, eat and your cravings are usually not for some health fruit or vegetables either.

2.) If you’re like me you make poor decisions when you’re hungry and that leads to pizza for dinner or a trip out to your local restaurant.

So how do you stop this from happening?

I usually fight this in 3 ways:

1.) I eat a smaller, more protein dense lunch. This way the drop in blood sugar is not so dramatic.

2.) I bring pre packed snacks so that I am not tempted to grab something really unhealthy. Granola bars, almonds, or 100 calorie snack packs are all good choices as well as at least 1 bottle of water.

3.) I get moving. Take a break from whatever you are doing and walk, stretch, or run. It doesn’t really matter just get your heart rate up and the blood flowing. You’ll be more alert and able to make better decisions.

One last suggestion I can give you is to get your rest at night. 6-8 hours a night at least. Most of us waste way too much time at night watching TV or dare I say on the computer. An extra 30-45 mins of sleep can really make a big difference during your day.

What do you think? What do you do to beat the midday slump?

When it comes to losing weight, size does matter. Many people underestimate the amount of food that they are eating per serving or even know just how much a serving size should be. Below I have outlined some of the best ways to control the amount of food you’re consuming. As well as some of the more useful items to have in your kitchen that will help accurately measure your food. 

1. Stick to the serving sizes on the package. Most manufactures make the serving sizes smaller on purpose in order to keep the overall calorie and fat content as low as possible. It’s a marketing thing, but use it to your advantage. 

2. Eat off of smaller plates. It’s a simple and effective trick. If you fill your smaller plate it looks like your are eating more food than normal, but in most cases it’s much less. 

3. When eating at home split your dinner into 2 portions. Eat one and put the other in the fridge for lunch the next day.  

4. If you absolutely have to eat out at a fast food or other type of restaurant, order the kiddie meal. You’ll usually end up saving a few hundred calories and you get a toy

5. Leave the food on the stove or counter, not at the kitchen table. You’ll be less likely to go for seconds. 

6. Never eat your food out of a bag, carton or other container were you can’t see what you are eating. If you can’t see it you don’t know how much you have had or how much is left. 

A medium sized apple or orange is the size of a tennis ball. 

Welcome to the Weightlossweapons blog. This is my first official post and I thought I would start it off by introducing myself.

My name is Steve and over the past year or so I have finally dropped those 35+ lbs of ugly unwanted fat. I’ve struggled for the past ten years to lose weight and every attempt has failed, until now. I have tried almost every popular diet out there including the South Beach Diet, The Abs Diet as well as following the Weight Watchers Points plan.

So what changed? Why have my efforts paid off this time? The answer was not that there was a problem with the diet plans I followed. They all work and plenty of people have lost weight with them.  The answer for me was information and motivation. I have learned so much about how to lose weight safely, through proper nutrition and a regular exercise program.

I want to share what I have learned and show you how you can lose that extra weight you’ve been carrying on you for years. That is why I created weightlossweapons.com it features a simple way of eating that I follow as well as some great bodyweight exercises, recipes, tools and motivational/ inspiring articles. All built around the theme of the site. I started with the “weapons”  These are some of the most important foods and equipment that I have found for losing the weight and keeping it off.

This blog will serve as a way to share more than just the basics. I’ll cover the latest plans, ideas, motivation, news and pretty much anything else weight loss related.

If you have any questions about weight loss or adjusting to a healthier lifestyle please send me an Email