Wait Less for Weight Loss

Fun and Easy Ways to Love Eating, Lose Weight, and Stop Being a Slave To Food

8 Fun and Easy Ways to Love Eating, Lose Weight, and Stop Being a Slave to Food! by Connie de Veer, MFA, CPCC

What happened? It was all so clear to me a month ago --- I was sure I could be satisfied at 9 pm with a half an apple and my last, preciously guarded bread exchange, patiently watching the poundage drop off at a sensible 1.5 pounds a week, eyes on the target, firm of resolve; clear of mind. Then, late one afternoon, that little inner voice says “I WANT COOKIES!... No, I mean I REALLY want cookies. I’m not hungry, I just want cookies...and I want them NOW!!!

That firm resolve that was so clear and present yesterday is nowhere to be found. I can’t seem to recall what I thought was so darned important that I had to deny myself that simplest of pleasures --- cookies and milk. I look in the mirror and say to myself, “for a middle-aged woman you’re not so bad. Besides, why are you trying to be a svelte sex-goddess at your age, anyway? You should be secure enough that you can accept yourself, no matter what size you are.” (blah-blah-blah!)

Can you relate? This scenario has played itself out in my life more times than I care to recall. But recently, I finally had enough, and used the skills I use to coach other people to success, to jump start my own weight loss plan and re-boot my resolve. And it worked! Now I want to spread the news! Here are the coaching techniques I used to get off the diet merry-go-round and lose weight. And you can do it, too!

1. Envision your goal If you’re vague about where you’re heading and why you want it, you won’t get there! So, write out (or, if you hate to journal, speak it into a tape recorder, or speak it to a friend who’ll write it down for you), a beautiful, blissful, perfect, 100% satisfaction, no limits, no negative self-talk picture of what you want to achieve in your eating habits. Be as specific as possible, and use as many sensory details as you can come up with. IMPORTANT NOTE: Make this fun!! When you have a clear idea of what you want, the how-you-get-there piece gets easier and clearer. If your resolve starts to wane throughout your journey, take this out and read it again.

Complete the following statements to stimulate your thinking:

• I want to feel ________

• I see myself __________

• I am “having”…”being”…”doing”…____________

2. Food Association Journal Set aside about a half an hour for this. Take inventory of all the associations you have with food. Sit down and write it all out. The good, the bad, and the ugly! Let your unconscious mind and your imagination go nuts with this one. Draw pictures even, if you want to! But get down on paper, every attitude, belief, opinion, love, and hate that shows up when you think about or have anything to do with food.

Example: “Food is Mom! The smell of meatloaf, corn, and baked potatoes when I came in from playing as a kid.” or “Food is bad --- It tempts me at every turn and I have no control over it!”

3. Values Assessment Take a look at your Food Association Journal and from it, pull out as many things that you value, deem really important, must have, and love about food. Write them down. (Bear in mind that when coaches refer to values, we don’t mean what you think you should think is important, or what someone else thinks is valuable. Values in this context refer to those things that aren’t either “right” or “wrong.” Like emotions, they just “are.”)

For example:

fresh/colorful/vibrant/nourishing celebratory/social/seasonal rituals/family

How will you honor those values on your healthy eating plan? (So you ENJOY this journey, and don’t feel deprived or “punished!”)

4. Start – and stick with – a food journal Create a plan for what you’re going to eat, and then write down everything you do eat, even when it deviates from the straight and narrow path. WRITE IT ALL DOWN! Awareness of a habit is MOST of the solution. And you might be surprised when you tally up whatever units you’re counting (calories, fat grams, etc.) It may be less than you think, and then you’ll be less likely to throw the towel in on your whole goal.

5. Craving Antidotes Make a list of at least 10 antidotes you can call forth when you’re hit with a food craving.

Things like:

• re-read your vision

• a picture (from a magazine, drawing, photo, etc.) that captures the feeling and look of what you want to achieve. (Mine is a woman, about my age and coloring, in a cool turquoise swimsuit, enjoying the beach!)

• a mantra, or affirmation that calls forth your inner strength and resources.

• activities you can choose instead of eating: For example, a hot bubble bath, an invigorating walk, call a friend, read a juicy novel…

6. Get back in your body! That’s right. We often disassociate from our bodies by turning our attention to analyzing, judging, planning, or otherwise medicating (with food, drugs, alcohol, and other repetitive thoughts and behaviors) in an attempt to avoid being present in the everyday struggles of life. The body is an undeniable reminder of where we’ve been and where we’re headed! It’s our bodies that show the effects of time, stress, and the choices we’ve made in a visible and concrete way. So, crafty, adaptable animals that we are, we’ve learned to escape by “going into our heads,” so to speak. Well, now it’s time to call yourself back home to your body!

Set aside some quiet time to be alone and undistracted. Check in with your body. Notice what it feels like to inhabit this body. Ask yourself the following questions:

•Where does my energy feel sluggish, or stuck? Be specific. Your body knows, if you give it a chance to “speak.”

•What am I hungry for (other than food --- like love, appreciation, justice, etc.), and how will I choose to get it?

• What food does my body want/need right now? And what choice will I make?

• How do I want to feel, in my body? Be as specific as possible. For example, “I want to feel light in my knees, and free and unencumbered in my lower abdomen.”

7. Expect obstacles and relapses now and then. I promise you, they will happen. But get the big picture – one little slip up (or even two or three...) does not mean your goal is doomed. Weight fluctuates. Period. Whether you’re trying to lose or gain, your mostly fluid body will ebb and flow. You are not a victim of your humanity! You can choose whether to stay stuck, or get back on track.

8. Take the scenic route I don’t know about you, but for me, I wanted to change my eating habits for life, and I certainly didn’t want to spend my life feeling deprived!! So I decided to consciously choose what I call, “Pauses on the scenic route,” --- You know, like when you decide to take longer to get to the Grand Canyon so you can stop periodically and really soak in the scenery? I decided to give myself permission to deviate from my eating plan now and then. My only rules were:

• Enjoy every delectable morsel!

• Make it REALLY good quality and something I really love and want!

• Get right back on the program after I enjoy the “Scenic Lookout”

• No bingeing

This also means I didn’t lose the classic 1.5 – 2 pounds a week. So what! It means that I am in control, at choice, and am not a slave to my (former!) addiction to food. You can be in control and at choice, too!

Connie de Veer, MFA, CPCC may be contacted at http://www.cdvcoaching.com

5 Little Tips That Can Help You Lose Weight

5 Little Tips that can Help You Lose Weight by Renee Kennedy

In order to lose weight and become healthier, you will need to plan a diet that you can stick to. Your diet plan is not a crash diet that you will give up after two weeks; it should be a LIFESTYLE change. Your diet changes must be reasonable or you will not be able to stick to them. That's why making a few subtle changes to your eating and exercise habits may help you develop a healthy diet plan that will, in turn, help you lose weight. Sometimes, the littlest things make the biggest difference.

Look at your diet patterns and decide if there are some nasty patterns that you can break. For instance, are there certain times of day when you just have to have a candy bar? Or are there certain times of day when you can't go without that bag of chips? Think about what you can reasonably give up or even better what can you replace with healthier food choices.

Here are some little habits that you might consider changing. The key is, you are breaking a BAD habit and instilling a GOOD habit in its place. This should be a PERMANENT change. Ask yourself, "Can I maintain this change for the rest of my life?"

Fast Food. Do you eat out everyday for lunch? Start to bring your lunch to work at least 4 days a week Even stopping by McDonald's twice a week can have a big impact on your diet. When you cook at home, you know what's going into your food.

Drinks. When you're thirsty, choose drinks that don't have any calories (water, tea, or diet soft drinks). If your drink choices do have have calories, they should have nutrients. Alcohol and soda both contain useless calories.

Snacks. Do you have a certain time of day that you just HAVE to snack? Fill your cupboard and refrigerator with low calorie snacks. Get rid of those high carbohydrate and sugary snacks.

Dinner. Maybe your hardest time of day is when you sit down to have a big meal. While you're cooking, eat a healthy snack - like a piece of fruit or a few low calorie crackers. Cook only what you will eat (no leftovers). If you make more than you're supposed to eat, serve from the stove, and put leftovers away before you sit down to eat. In other words, do not have extra food sitting in front of you on the table. Do you know that a meat serving should be only as big as a deck of cards?

Exercise. Exercise MUST be a part of your daily routines: When you're shopping, park your car far away from the store. Plan for this and do it EVERY time - especially in the cold weather! (The colder it is, the more calories you will burn.) Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Play a game of hide-and-seek with your kids. When you take the dog for a walk, make it a brisk walk. Can you find some way to sneak in some exercise everyday? Look carefully at your routines and plan something that you don't mind doing. If you like it, chances are you will continue to do it.

Check out this article by Wendy Hearn: Weight Loss: Eat To Live - Not Live To Eat She talks about how to break the habit of eating when you're not hungry.

Come and visit the NutriCounter web site for more information on how nutrition influences weight loss, diabetes, pregnancy, heart disease and more!

Renee Kennedy may be contacted at http://www.nutricounter.com

10 Dieting Tips To Waste That Weight

10 Dieting Tips to Waste That Weight! by Randy Mclean

1. The first step you should take is to adopt healthier eating habits. Not only will you gain more food volume this way but you can use natural low calorie seasonings such as onions to improve the taste. This is proven for long term health and fat loss while removing the strain of dieting itself.

2. When preparing meat, always trim the fat off of it. Or if it is something like chicken, remove the skin. If that is too bland chop it up and add it to something like rice!

3. Find someone to 'report' to. People tend to be more dedicated when they know after a week or two they need to check in with someone. Find someone to walk with for example, a close friend or even a diet buddy. Share your goals! Trying to do things on your own can sometimes be a lot harder.

4. Write down what you eat and stick with it. You'd be surprised at how many extra things you might be eating if you don't write your menu down. Either plan ahead with your food intake or start keeping a food journal just to see!

5. If you must fry things, use a non-fat cooking spray. This will save you many calories versus cooking with oil. For example, one tablespoon of cooking oil contains 120 calories! Whereas a 2.4 second spray of PAM contains only 16 calories.

6. Don't ever give up! Never view yourself as a failure. The only time you fail is when/if you quit. It may take more research or a different approach but it 'will' happen. Statistics show that most people do not succeed their first time trying. Nothing can take the place of persistence! Not intelligence, not talent, nothing! Everything else is secondary.

7. Remember that diet and exercise are a 50/50 ratio. If one or the other is missing you will be less likely to succeed! You can exercise until you pass out but if you are taking in too many calories you won't see dramatic changes in your appearance. And if you don't exercise your body will more likely use muscle for energy rather than fat. Aerobic exercise burns fat! Starvation eats up muscle!

8. Concentrate on fat loss, not weight loss. Your appearance is what counts, not how much you weigh. Since muscle is heavier than fat you might be surprised! And remember, muscle burns calories! So eat regularly and don't skip meals. If you wait more than 4 hours your metabolism starts to slow down.

9. Women tend to gain fat around the glutes and thighs. Men gain it on their stomach and around the waist. The reason is due to a lack of circulation in those areas. Fat is not taken into the bloodstream as efficiently as other areas. That is why besides a long term fat loss program, fat burning agents such as ephedrine help. Blood thinning agents such as aspirin also help. But make sure to read the labels, instructions and warnings before using any supplement!

10. The real key to losing weight is consistency. If you start missing meals or skipping workouts your progress will slow down to the point of discouragement. How bad do you want it? Find a good program and stick with it. Remember, you get out of it what you put into it!

Randy Mclean may be contacted at http://www.weightlossguidance.com Email to: info@weightlossguidance.com

Randy Mclean has a diploma in Fitness and Nutrition from Education Direct, a YMCA individual conditioning certificate and is the author of Instinct - Master Your Mind And Your Body! For free tips and tricks visit www.weightlossguidance.com

Top 15 Reasons To Avoid Low Carb, High Protein Diets

Top 15 Reasons to Avoid Low Carb, High Protein Diets

copyright 2004 by Greg Landry, M.S. http://www.Landry.com

Low carb (carbohydrate), high protein diets are the latest dieting craze. However, before you jump on the band wagon, you may want to consider a few things:

1. Low carb (ketogenic) diets deplete the healthy glycogen (the storage form of glucose) stores in your muscles and liver. When you deplete glycogen stores, you also dehydrate, often causing the scale to drop significantly in the first week or two of the diet. This is usually interpreted as fat loss when it’s actually mostly from dehydration and muscle loss. By the way, this is one of the reasons that low carb diets are so popular at the moment - there is a quick initial, but deceptive drop in scale weight.

Glycogenesis (formation of glycogen) occurs in the liver and muscles when adequate quantities of carbohydrates are consumed - very little of this happens on a low carb diet.

Glycogenolysis (breakdown of glycogen) occurs when glycogen is broken down to form glucose for use as fuel.

2. Depletion of muscle glycogen causes you to fatigue easily, and makes exercise and movement uncomfortable. Research indicates that muscle fatigue increases in almost direct proportion to the rate of depletion of muscle glycogen. Bottom line is that you don't feel energetic and you exercise and move less (often without realizing it) which is not good for caloric expenditure and basal metabolic rate (metabolism).

3. Depletion of muscle glycogen leads to muscle atrophy (loss of muscle). This happens because muscle glycogen (broken down to glucose) is the fuel of choice for the muscle during movement. There is always a fuel mix, but without muscle glycogen, the muscle fibers that contract, even at rest to maintain muscle tone, contract less when glycogen is not immediately available in the muscle. Depletion of muscle glycogen also causes you to exercise and move less than normal which leads to muscle loss and the inability to maintain adequate muscle tone.

Also, in the absence of adequate carbohydrate for fuel, the body initially uses protein (muscle) and fat. the initial phase of muscle depletion is rapid, caused by the use of easily accessed muscle protein for direct metabolism or for conversion to glucose (gluconeogenesis) for fuel. Eating excess protein does not prevent this because there is a caloric deficit.

When insulin levels are chronically too low as they may be in very low carb diets, catabolism (breakdown) of muscle protein increases, and protein synthesis stops.

4. Loss of muscle causes a decrease in your basal metabolic rate (metabolism). Metabolism happens in the muscle. Less muscle and muscle tone means a slower metabolism which means fewer calories burned 24 hours-a-day.

5. Your muscles and skin lack tone and are saggy. Saggy muscles don't look good, cause saggy skin, and cause you to lose a healthy, vibrant look (even if you’ve also lost fat).

6. Some proponents of low carb diets recommend avoiding carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, potatoes, carrots, etc. because of they are high on the glycemic index - causing a sharp rise in insulin. Certain carbohydrates have always been, and will always be the bad guys: candy, cookies, baked goods with added sugar, sugared drinks, processed / refined white breads, pastas, and rice, and any foods with added sugar. These are not good for health or weight loss.

However, carbohydrates such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grain breads and pastas, and brown rice are good for health and weight loss. Just like with proteins and fats, these carbohydrates should be eaten in moderation. Large volumes of any proteins, fats or carbohydrates are not conducive to weight loss and health.

The effect of high glycemic foods is often exaggerated. It does matter, but to a smaller degree than is often portrayed. Also, the total glycemic effect of foods is influenced by the quantity of that food that you eat at a sitting. Smaller meals have a lower overall glycemic effect. Also, we usually eat several types of food at the same time, thereby reducing the average glycemic index of the meal, if higher glycemic foods are eaten.

Also, glycemic index values can be misleading because they are based on a standard 50 grams of carbohydrate consumed. It wouldn't take much candy bar to get that, but it would take four cups of carrots. Do you usually eat four cups of carrots at a meal?

Regular exercisers and active people also are less effected by higher glycemic foods because much of the carbohydrate comsumed is immediately used to replenish glycogen stores in the liver and muscle.

By the way, if you're interested in lowering insulin levels, there is a great way to do that - exercise and activity. To receive my article via email, "Your 8 Hormones and Weight Loss", send email to: 8Hormones@Landry.com

7. Much of the weight loss on a low carb, high protein diet, especially in the first few weeks, is actually because of dehydration and muscle loss.

8. The percentage of people that re-gain the weight they've lost with most methods of weight loss is high, but it's even higher with low carb, high protein diets. This is primarily due to three factors:

A. You have lost muscle. With that comes a slower metabolism which means fewer calories are burned 24 hours-a-day. A loss of muscle during the process of losing weight is almost a guarantee for re-gaining the lost weight, and more.

B. You re-gain the healthy fluid lost because of glycogen depletion.

C. It's difficult to maintain that type of diet long-term.

D. You have not made a change to a long-term healthy lifestyle.

9. Eating too much fat is just not healthy. I know you've heard of people whose blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides have decreased while on a low carb, high protein diet. This often happens with weight loss, but it doesn't continue when you're on a diet high in fat.

There are literally reams of research over decades that clearly indicates that an increase in consumption of animal products and/or saturated fat leads to increased incidence of heart disease, strokes, gall stones, kidney stones, arthritic symptoms, certain cancers, etc. For example, in comparing countries with varying levels of meat consumption, there is a direct relationship between the volume of meat consumption in a country and the incidence of digestive cancers (stomach, intestines, rectal, etc.).

Fat is certainly necessary, and desirable in your diet, but they should be mostly healthy fats and in moderation. Manufactured / synthetic "low fat" foods with lots of added sugar are not the answer. Neither are manufactured / synthetic "low carb" foods with artificial sweeteners or added fat. By the way, use of artificial sweeteners has never been shown to aid in weight loss and they may pose health problems.

According to Dr. Keith-Thomas Ayoob of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, "In my experience, unless you're willing to throw out decades of research, you cannot ignore that diets chronically high in saturated fats are linked to heart disease," Dr. Ayoob is also a spokesman for the American Dietetic Association and says that low carb, high protein diets are an attempt at a quick fix and not a long-term lifestyle change.

10. As someone recently told me, "it must work - people are losing weight". People that are truly losing fat on low carb, high protein diets, are doing so because they are eating fewer calories - that's the bottom line. There is no magic - the same can be done on a healthy diet.

11. Low carb diets are lacking in fiber. Every plant-based food has some fiber. All animal products have no fiber. A lack of fiber increases your risk for cancers of the digestive track (because transit time is lengthened) and cardiovascular disease (because of fibers effect on fat and cholesterol). It also puts you at a higher risk for constipation and other bowel disorders.

12. Low carb diets lack sufficient quantities of the the many nutrients / phytonutrients / antioxidants found in fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains, necessary for health and aiding in prevention of cancer and heart disease. In fact, you need these nutrients even more so when you're consuming too much fat as is often the case on a low carb high protein diet.

13. Amercans already consume more than twice the amount of protein needed. Add to that a high protein diet and you have far too much protein consumption. By the way, most people don't realize that all fruits, all vegetables, all whole grains, and all legumes also contain protein. Animal products contain larger quantities of protein, but that may not be a good thing.

Excess dietary protein puts you at a higher risk for many health problems: gout (painful joints from high purine foods which are usually high protein foods), kidney disease, kidney stones, osteoporosis (excess dietary protein causes leeching of calcium from the bones). By the way, countries with lower, healthier intakes of protein also have a decreased incidence of osteoporosis.

14. Low carb, high protein diets cause an unhealthy physiological state called ketosis, a type of metabolic acidosis. You may have heard the phrase, "fat burns in the flame of carbohydrate". Excess acetyl CoA cannot enter the Krebs Cycle (you remember the old Krebs Cycle) due to insufficient OAA. In other words, for fat to burn efficiently and without production of excess toxic ketones, sufficient carbohydrate must be available. Ketosis can lead to many health problems and can be very serious at it’s extreme.

15. Bad breath. Often called "keto breath" or "acetone breath", it’s caused by production of acetones in a state of ketosis.

So why the low carb, high protein craze? I believe there are several reasons.

A. Weight loss (mostly muscle and muscle fluid) is often rapid during the first few weeks. This causes people to think they’re losing fat rapidly. B. It gives you "permission" to eat the "bad foods": bacon, eggs, burgers, steak, cheese, etc., and lots of fat. C. Many see it as the new "magic" they've been looking for, although it's been around, in various forms, since the 1960's.

The good news is that there is a very healthy way to lose weight, feel energetic, and to greatly increase your chances of keeping it off. But that's another article.

Get movin'! :)

Author and exercise physiologist, Greg Landry, offers free weight loss and fitness success stories, articles, programs, and his "Fast & Healthy Weight Loss"

5 Tips and Motivation Hints to Start Your Fitness Routine This Fall!

by: Lynn VanDyke

The crispness of autumn’s air settles in after a long summer of hot and humid weather. The leaves begin to turn vibrant colors and the children head back to school. Adults settle back into their regular routines and begin preparing for the upcoming winter months.

If you’re like most adults, one of your priorities is to lose weight and tone up. Perhaps you want to drop a few dress sizes or add a few pounds of lean muscle. Whatever your goal may be this season, here are a few tips that will jumpstart your fat loss:

1) Eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day. Each meal should be 2-3 hours apart. Each meal should contain one protein and one carb. The first meal should be eaten within an hour after waking.

2) Drink a cup of water at each meal.

3) Rest properly. This means taking at least 48 hours between strength training the same muscles, and it also means getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Lastly, it means taking 1-2 days off from exercising per week.

4) Cardio should be done at different intensity levels and different session lengths. Consider doing a low intensity/long session, a high intensity/short session and a few medium intensity/medium length sessions.

5) Strength train each muscle 1-3 times per week. You should lift a proper weight and perform the proper amount of sets/reps for your strength training method. If you need more guidance or exercise ideas you can search the web. Try using the search term “strength training woman” or “strength training men” to narrow down your results. Include the quotation marks for best results.

It is possible for us to begin the autumn season and start checking things off of our “To Do” list. The secret to successful fitness programs lies in correct execution. Non-stop dieting or crash course fitness regimes will not help you achieve lasting fat loss.

There are many ways to keep your motivation strong through the fall and winter months. Here are a few that you can begin using right now:

- Join a gym and talk with a personal trainer about your specific goals.

- Find a workout buddy.

- Create a fitness and nutrition journal. Log your daily food intake and workout program. Also note your moods and feelings. Contact me for a free workout log.

- Invest in an ebook. An ebook is an electronic book that many fitness professionals are creating. The ebook should be authored by a master trainer and offer you a complete program on fitness and nutrition. Having a complete guide by a master trainer is one of the cheapest and best ways to succeed.

Whether your goal is to slim down or bulk up, combining the 5 tips above with a focused fitness and nutrition program is the absolute best path to long-lasting fat loss. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Your success depends on you!