Weight Loss – Lighten Up!

Ditch the Commercial Diet – Forge Your Own Path!

August 18, 2020 Frank Mastrandrea Comments 0 Comment

If you’re overweight, the commercial diet industry would have you believe that there are only two choices. Either continue to eat only for today’s pleasure (“carpe oreos”) and pay for that the future, or follow one of their strict diet plans which will lead to the fulfillment of all your dreams. This is a false dichotomy. In reality, not only are neither of these options realistic, but there is a third, unmentioned path to eating healthy and losing weight. However,…

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The Foundation of Successful Long-Term Weight Loss

July 6, 2020 Frank Mastrandrea Comments 0 Comment

On July 4, 1976, Congress voted to ratify the text of the Declaration of Independence. While our system of government has been pushed near its breaking point of late, it’s still the gold standard the world-over for how a free nation protects and encourages its citizens. Why mention this on a blog dedicated to mindful eating and weight loss? Is it merely because we just celebrated the July 4th weekend? Or because I finally watched Hamilton on Disney+? No, and…

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Cooking in Quarantine

April 29, 2020 Frank Mastrandrea Comments 0 Comment

I find myself a bit surprised to be writing this particular blog entry. I keep an ongoing schedule of planned topics and, frankly, “cooking tips for the zombie apocalypse” was further down the list than you might imagine. But in seeing post after social media post about people struggling with food issues, and major news outlets posting stories about the dramatic increase in sales of junk food… I thought maybe this was a worthwhile subject. Of course, if you’re making…

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Keeping the Scale in Balance

February 7, 2020 Frank Mastrandrea Comments 0 Comment

A customer walks into an outdoor adventure store to find the owner setting up a realistic model of Mt Kilimanjaro. “The detail on that is amazing,” says the customer. “Is it to scale?” “No,” says the surprised owner. “It’s for display purposes only.” My point? The word “scale” can’t untangle every problem all by itself. Here’s an inescapable truth – if you’re trying to lose weight, you want to see results when you step on the scale. However, if your…

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WINNING THE BATTLE OF THE BINGE

January 13, 2020 Frank Mastrandrea Comments 0 Comment

Binging has ruined many a weight loss attempt. A binge adds a huge number of calories to a daily count, most probably from junk food or other unhealthy sources. More devastating, though, is the psychological wreckage it leaves in its wake. Addressing the issue boils down to two simple questions – what leads us to binging, and how do we avoid it? Why We Binge A binge is what happens when your futile attempt to deprive yourself of something for…

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SEASON’S EATINGS: WEIGHT LOSS & THE HOLIDAY TABLE

November 27, 2019 Frank Mastrandrea Comments 1 comment

Holiday eating presents a seemingly insurmountable series of obstacles to remaining steadfast with any weight loss plan. It causes some people to pause their current weight loss strategies until “after the holidays”, and a large subset of those people to never return to their weight loss efforts. For others, holiday eating serves as another excuse to not even begin a weight loss program, as the magical “start of a new year” is just around the corner, bringing with it resolutions…

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Meal Planning: A Key Part of Your Weight Loss Program

October 2, 2019 Frank Mastrandrea Comments 0 Comment

With the beginning of fall comes the return of routine. Kids are back to school, vacations are done, and everyone gets back on their regular schedule. Believe it or not, for some people (mostly parents), the start of a new school year comes as a welcome respite after an often chaotic summer. How does this relate to long-term weight loss? It’s simple. There is no part of your weight loss program that responds better to routine and scheduling than weekly…

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The Three R’s of Weight Loss

July 14, 2019 Frank Mastrandrea Comments 0 Comment

Learning the “three R’s” of weight loss has taught me the secrets to small, sustainable dietary changes which have been instrumental in my losing 150 pounds (and counting) over the last two years. If you’re as old as I am, you grew up learning the “three R’s” of education: reading, writing, and arithmetic. Personally, I always held a small grudge against an educational system which promoted a “three R” tool that featured only one R word, and I was especially…

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How Playing Jenga Can Help You Make Smart Food Choices

June 3, 2019 Frank Mastrandrea Comments 0 Comment

Many people, including doctors, nutritionists, even well-meaning friends and family, like to give those of us who need to lose weight the same advice: make small changes to what you eat. They give this advice as if the words alone instruct us how to make these changes. They do not. To successfully make small changes to your diet for the purposes of sustainable weight loss, you need to navigate a two-step process. First, you have to examine your current food…

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Time To Start Assembling Your Weight Loss Team

May 20, 2019 Frank Mastrandrea Comments 0 Comment

Maybe it’s the 20 years I spent working in Division I college athletics. Or maybe it’s that I just cried my eyes out watching Avengers: Endgame for the second time. Regardless, the fact of the matter is I love a good team. If you’re going to undertake a project as daunting as long-term weight loss, you need to pull together your personal dream team to make it happen. The concept of “team building” is another weight loss trope that is…

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