River City Weight Loss Guidelines & Dietary Plan

Rules of Thumb to be Successful Long-term

1) Avoid Liquid Calories - Drink water or no calorie beverages, add no calorie sweeteners to coffee, avoid alcohol, avoid drinking smoothies as regular meal and snack replacements.

2) Dense Protein - Each meal should ideally contain 3-4 oz solid, dense protein like beef, steak, chicken, pork, or turkey. It takes longer to digest, and you feel full longer. Shoot for 60+ grams of protein per day.

3) Pre-Load with Water and Don't Drink with Meals - Drink 6 oz or more of water prior to meals to fill your stomach. Stop drinking during your meal and wait 30 minutes after eating to drink so you don't wash the food out before you feel full.

4) Slow Down - Take 20-30 minutes to eat, use small bites and chew well.

5) Hungry, or just bored? - There's a lot of reasons we eat. Are we actually hungry or just needing stimulation? Try the delayed gratification approach. Wait 20 minutes and see if the urge passes.

6) No Long Fasts - We find that people that eat less than 2x per day have a harder time reaching goals because they overeat at dinner. Break up the calories throughout the day.

7) Include Veggies - Include at least 1/4 cup solid veggies that require chewing, the fiber is very helpful for multiple reasons, satiation included.

8) Are You Hydrated Properly - We commonly confuse hunger and thirst. Often, we believe we need food when we actually just need more fluids. Keep drinking, keep a bottle with you.

9) Eat Only When You're Hungry - Often we eat out of habit. Not only are we programmed by timing but also to finish the food on our plate. Listen for cues of fullness, don't eat just because it's time.

10) Stop Late Night Foraging - You need to stop eating 2 hours prior to bed. Proper digestion is very important, and we don't burn off late night calories so try getting enough dense protein and fiber with dinner to ward off snacking.

11) Exercise - Get at least 30 - 45 minutes of exercise 3 - 4 times per week. Ideally, this should include non exercise activities to encourage lifestyle changes. Find something you enjoy that requires movement and do it.

River City Weight Loss & Wellness Dietary Guidelines

In order to lose and maintain weight loss over long periods of time, it's important to learn how to make healthy lifestyle choices rather than dieting. Dieting feels restrictive and requires a great deal of effort and thought. We hope that our patients are able to instead eat a less processed and fried version of many of their favorite foods. We want them to learn what to order and how much to eat of their plate so that they still go out with friends and family.

We try to teach moderation and serving size rather than heavy restriction. If you can budget your calories, you can lose weight. We recommend 1000 -1200 calories for women, and 1200 -1400 for men when they are trying to reduce weight at a rate of approximately 2+ pounds per week.

Protein is so essential so that the weight you are losing isn't your muscle mass while you are in a calorie deficit.

We know that sometimes craving a treat is normal, we certainly don't forbid it, but then it needs to be included in your calorie budget for the day to be successful.

It's helpful to track calories in the beginning to know how much we are consuming. Helpful trackers can be purchased for cell phones through the ap stores on your phone. We are happy to make a recommendation.

Tune into River City Weight Loss Support Group on Facebook and catch tips and recipes to help you stay on track.

Breakfast

Approximately 250 Calories or Less

1) Choose Greek yogurt with berries, scrambled eggs and a piece of toast, a piece of fruit, or a low-calorie protein shake or bar. Aim for higher protein and within about 250 calories.

2) Avoid drinking calories in coffee, juice, milk, and tea. Aim for lower calorie protein smoothies, not the type typically found at our favorite smoothie bars as they tend to be surprisingly high in sugar calories. Try a premade version if you are crunched for time, check the calories and protein intake before purchasing.

3) Caffeine is a natural appetite suppressant. If you previously safely enjoyed coffee or tea in the morning, please continue with a non-sugar sweetener or coffee creamer of choice.

Lunch/Dinner

Approximately 300-400 Calories Each

Choose 1 From Each Category

Lean Meats - chicken, fish, and turkey - 3 oz serving size - size of a deck of cards or palm of your hand.

Vegetables - non starch, roasted, steamed, or boiled - 1 1/2 Cups - 1 cup = size of your fist

Starch/Carbohydrates - choose one item from the foods listed below.

Rice - 1/3 Cup Cooked (Not Fried)

Pasta - 1/3 Cup Cooked

Potatoes - 1/2 Cup (Not Fried)

Bread - 1 Slice

Tortilla - 1 Tortilla

Snacks

Aim for 100 - 150 Calories or Less

Nuts - check package for serving size.

Veggies - 1 - 1 1/2 cup of raw veggies, try hummus or low calorie dip for a kick but remember to measure and include it in your calorie budget.

Fruit - go with unprocessed versions, many berries are surprisingly low on calories while grapes and raisins will make you gain weight from excess sugar calories. Can often google serving sizes and calories for commonly eaten fruits.

Hard Boiled Eggs - 70 calories a piece and protein rich, can have 2. Try different seasonings to spice it up.

Bottled protein shake or bar - look to fit within about 100-150 calories, elevated protein, fiber, and nutrients, extra bonus if you can find a flavor you like and it becomes your treat instead of a candy bar on craving days.

Good luck and if you need more assistance, don't forget about our complete dietary counseling to help you dial in your diet and implement workable changes for long term success even without medication.