As you can probably imagine, this can be particularly difficult to try lose weight As a food lover. The idea of giving up foods we all love just to lose a few pounds sounds absolutely excruciating. So, what if you You don’t have to stop eating the food you love to lose weight?
Chef Virginia WillisA foodie who’s lost more than 65 pounds without giving up her favorite foods — and she’s sharing her tips so you can do the same.
1. Keep yourself accountable
“The first step for me to lose weight was to start being accountable for what I was eating. Everything from measuring my food to weighing my food, it can feel like it’s tedious or overwhelming. There will be, but really that’s part of it. It’s the accountability. It helps keep me on track and it’s become a habit now and that way, I know what I’m eating,” says Chef Virginia.
2. Use an ice cream scoop for portion control
Chef Virginia explains, “I probably have 3 or 4 ice cream scoops to use in the kitchen at all times. They help me keep portion control.”
3. Instead of pouring your oil free, put it in a squirt bottle
“Adding free oil can add a lot of fat and calories. Instead, I use a squirt bottle. I find that three squirts of my particular spritz bottle is equivalent to a half teaspoon of oil. This simple trick helps me with portion control. And helps with accountability,” she says.
4. Eat two fruits and/or vegetables at every meal
“So, when I eat a bowl of cereal in the morning, I usually add an apple and a banana to it. I might also sprinkle some chia seeds on top of that and eat some almonds. I make sure to That every meal I eat is full of nutrition.” To me, the filling is the better,” shares Chef Virginia.
“With stir-fry, I put vegetables and lean proteins on the bottom and then add a little bit of rice on top, so I get the same amount of rice as with stir-fry, but not as much,” she adds.
“If a post-menopausal, French-trained, Southern chef can lose 65 pounds and keep it off, it means you can too,” says Chef Virginia.