Gilda Gazor Gazor is a fourth-year
political science student. E-mail her at ggazor@media.ucla.edu.
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Finals will be over soon and you’ll have an entire week to
get your life back together. So Spring Break provides the perfect
opportunity to make up for your failed New Year’s resolution
to lose weight by eating right.
I just lost 10 pounds by cutting down my daily calorie and fat
intake. If you are like me, you don’t have time to cook.
Instead, you pick up every meal on campus or at a restaurant. But
with this method, you have little control over what you’re
eating.
Your daily nutritional values allow you to eat 2,000 calories
and 65 g of fat per day. To lose weight, you can do what I did and
cut this down to less than 1,300 calories and 25 g of fat per
day.
If you’re wondering how you can fit that Big Mac into this
diet, you can’t.
If you read my last column you know that paying attention to
your calorie intake will change your perspectives on what you put
into your body. But giving up the fast food restaurants altogether
is a healthier and less expensive option.
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You don’t have to prepare your own meals if you
don’t have time. Frozen foods offer a great alternative to
cooking. Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, and Weight Watchers have
low-fat, reduced-calorie, gourmet foods.
Wait! Don’t stop reading! Don’t be fooled into
thinking frozen foods are gross. I have eaten several Lean Cuisine
and Weight Watchers meals and find them to be the perfect
replacement for fast foods that are loaded with fat. With meals
like Fettuccini Alfredo, Basil Chicken, Chicken Chow Mein and
vegetable pizza, you are not missing out on good, rich foods. And,
if you’re constantly pressed for time when it comes to lunch
and dinner, they take mere minutes to make.
The small portion sizes may not be very filling, but that is why
you need to eat a large salad for lunch and dinner before you eat
your meal. Use only 2 tablespoons of non-fat dressing. I recommend
Girard’s Fat Free Caesar or Red Wine Vinaigrette dressings.
You’ll be surprised at how full you will be after eating a
salad and one frozen food entree.
If you are still not satisfied, opt for Lean Cuisine Hearty
Portion meals that have more food. Try the Chicken Florentine pasta
or Jumbo Rigatoni with meatballs. I’ve included a chart in
which I recommend the more tasty entrees along with their calorie
and fat values.
Don’t be worried about how expensive frozen foods are. All
the local grocery stores have sales that offer significant
discounts. These sales usually alternate weekly. For example,
Weight Watchers may be on sale the first week of the month and Lean
Cuisine may be discounted the week after. This way you can get your
favorites on sale; prices get as low as $2 per meal. Instead of
using those coupons as coasters, find out what stores offer the
best deals on frozen foods, fruits and salads.
If you don’t have time to cut up the lettuce and mushrooms
for your salad, you can buy all these products already packaged and
on sale.
When you’re stuck on campus all day and are not home for
lunch, invest in some Tupperware and pack your lunch for the day.
Pre-heat your frozen food and pack it separately from your salad.
Keep yourself hydrated during the day by carrying a bottle of
water. I usually carry a 32 oz. bottle and refill it a few times a
day.
Make these changes and you will look and feel significantly
different immediately. No more sleeping through class in the
mornings, lazy afternoons or overeating. You’ll need less
sleep, gain motivation to work out, and stop snacking on fatty
foods. If you get tempted to snack you can refer to my past two
columns for healthier alternatives like fat-free frozen yogurt.
Also, if you read the labels you will think twice before picking up
that bag of Doritos.
The best part about this diet is that it is a permanent change.
No Power Bars, Slim Fast shakes or starvation. Frozen foods may not
be a solution that you can live by forever, but it will provide you
with a structure for eating low-fat meals at regular times in the
day. Once you establish this structure, you will add other foods to
your meal plan. So pick up some Weight Watchers and watch the
pounds melt off.