Posts Tagged ‘Diet’

Um…I Think My Diet Is Broke ☹

Posted: January 9, 2012 by williampower in Behavior Modification
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

You’ve all seen it…heard it….experienced it…people skipping out on sweets and fast food. People spending a few extra hours a week in the gym and becoming meticulous with their portion control. Yet when the smoke settles and the dust clears not a single pound has been lost. FYL right…I know. But this is a problem for “metabolistically challenged” individuals all over the world. They mistakenly believe that they are on the right path to weight loss but the farther they walk the more lost they get. As a result, they become frustrated and depressed and may then engage in binge eating.

One of the leading problems with contemporary diets is that they are too standardized. Very rarely do many, if any, really take into consideration individual physiologies and metabolisms.
They provide circle shaped approaches to weight loss in a world that’s filled with triangles, square, hexagons…you get the point. The first step to developing a diet for yourself is determining your body type. Each body type requires a different dietary approach to make body composition changes. For more info on body types see “What’s your body type…” and “Where did my fat go?“.

Yet another reason for diet failure is hidden calories. You may literally be consuming calories and not even realize it. For instance, the frappucinos that are so popular today are loaded with calories, as many as 600 in a single serving! (That’s equivalent to a Big Mac (O_o) ). You may also be indulging in sugary sodas, another source of extra calories. By taking a few simple steps, such as eliminating the exotic coffee drinks from your diet and substituting skim milk for whole milk, you may be able to eliminate the hidden calories that are denying you dieting success. For more info on hidden calories see “Pouring on the Pounds” and “The Alcoholic Truth About Exercise”.

Lack of consistency can also be a diet-killer. You might go on a diet for a while, then quit before you’ve made any measurable progress. It’s only natural to want to see quick results. The problem is that healthy weight loss involves losing only a couple of pounds a week. That means most will have to stay on your diets for months before you see appreciable weight loss. Discouraging? It can be, but if you keep a positive attitude you can achieve your ideal weight. Best way to stay positive is to eliminate negative thought processes. See “Killing Ants To Lose Weight”.

You may also be more successful in your dieting if you consider it to be a lifestyle change. When you conduct a lifestyle change, your diet becomes a meal plan for life. This means that you must change the way you look at food. It is designed to be fuel for your body, and nothing more. It either helps you reach your goal or pushes you farther away from it. As a result, you should not turn to food to make you feel better or to provide you with a sense of comfort. If that’s your norm then poor methods of sublimating your feelings probably has a huge stake in why you are in this position now. A lifestyle change implies commitment; it means that you are prepared to follow the plan for the long haul. It means knowing and understanding the difference between immediate pleasures, short term goals and long term happiness. If you feel as if you cannot be on your diet for any appreciable length of time, then change it. Find one that you can follow. Your aim ultimately should be not simply to lose weight, but to become healthier. A fad diet will not allow you to reach that milestone. Therefore, you must choose your diet carefully. For help in making that lifestyle change see “Tips on Behavior Modification and Exercise“.

More Weight Loss Tips #NODIET

Posted: October 5, 2011 by williampower in Behavior Modification, Nutrition
Tags: , , ,
0

Typically, when people find themselves hard-pressed to lose weight, they automatically turn to dieting as their first step toward redemption. However, for people who are trying to lose weight, dieting isn’t always the best answer. Honestly, lifestyle changes are the best answers for anyone trying to trim down or become healthier, lifestyle changes that yes, often require dietary changes. But, for those who want to try other things before they delve into the arduous task of complete dietary overhaul, there are numerous things you can do to either cut some calories or burn some extra. Things like:

• Exercising and increasing physical activity (see “Tips For Increasing Physical Activity”)

• Eating Breakfast. When we sleep, our body is essentially fasting for the duration of time we spend counting sheep. Fasting for hours on end slows our metabolism and can eventually lead to fat retention and muscle breakdown. To break that fast (hence the name “breakfast”), you need to eat as soon as possible upon waking. This will rejuvenate your metabolism and replenish all the energy stores your body used up to power itself while you slept.

• Relax on those midnight “pleasure food” snacks and refrigerator raids. If you get hungry over night, eat a vegetable based snack, drink some water and go to bed!

• Eat more lean proteins. Diets with abundant protein intake have been shown to reduce overall appetite.

• Be cognizant of liquid calories. Don’t drink your calories. Unless it’s a meal replacement and is used correctly, DON’T DRINK YOUR CALORIES. It’s that simple.

• Eat smaller, and more often. Avoid insulin spikes that lead to fat storage by consuming smaller meals with less fat, less sugar and less calories. Avoiding excessive insulin spikes will improve your energy levels, prevent unnecessary fat storage and spike your metabolism (that’s a good thing).

• Drink more water. You’ve been hearing the benefits of drinking water since grade school. You don’t need another list of reasons why you should. You + 8-12 glasses of water a day = #winning

• When possible, cook your own food. That way you know what goes in it and have control over it. The more control your have over what you eat the better.

Whether dieting, not dieting, on the borderline of maybe kinda sorta thinking about dieting, try these tip out, follow them consistently and as your lifestyle changes so will you waistline → #fact

Fat Loss Tips

Posted: August 26, 2011 by williampower in Exercise, Nutrition
Tags:
0

Fat Loss Tips

• Never skip meals
• Exercise daily
• Maximize the thermogenic effect of food (calorie converting process) by keeping protein levels up, increasing activity, and taking advised supplemental factors.
• Vigorous resistance training will maintain or increase your lean body mass (muscle). Muscle burns calories, which means that, for every pound of muscle gained, you will be burning more calories and increasing the rate of fat loss.
• DO NOT DRASTICALLY REDUCE YOUR TOTAL DAILY CALORIC INAKE.
• Reduce fat intake to fewer than 25% of total daily calories.
• Increase foods high in fiber and complex carbohydrates to help satisfy hunger.
• Avoid foods high in salt and fat, like all processed foods or snack foods.
• Eat fresh foods.
• Do not fry foods or use oil or fat in the cooking process. Instead bake, broil, or microwave foods.
• Avoid using heavy sauces on foods.
• Learn to read food nutrition labels. Look for foods that have less than 2 grams of fat per 100 calories.
• Aim for fat free foods.
• Eat low fat protein foods.
• Ask about low calorie protein supplements to help meet daily protein requirements.
• Eat egg whites as a snack to help reduce hunger pangs at night.
• Do not eat out daily and avoid eating fast foods. These foods are usually high in fat, salt, and calories.
• Eat plenty of vegetables.

Why Most Fat Loss Diets Fail
Most people are interested in quick weight loss gimmicks that are easy to use. They want a magic pill or food that melts away fat. While many of these diet programs can reduce weight, recent evaluations report that they have less than a 10% success rate in keeping the weight off. This is because these plans do not use real food and do not advocate sensible exercise. They also result in loss of lean body mass, which means lowering your metabolic rate. When you lose lean body mass, even if you are losing fat, your percentage of body fat may not change or even increase if the amount of lean body mass lost is greater than the body fat lost. Avoid weight loss gimmicks and drugs. Use an integrated approach of good diet and appropriate exercise as an approach to reach your goals.

10 Common Misconceptions When Losing Weight (ACSM)

Posted: August 26, 2011 by williampower in Exercise, Nutrition
Tags: , ,
0

Severely restrict their caloric intake. A starvation diet ( i.e., reducing your caloric intake to less than 50% of what your body requires) presents a number of problems to people who are trying to lose weight. First and foremost, it doesn’t work. Any weight that may have been lost is subsequently regained because most individuals cannot maintain such a restrictive eating plan over the long haul.

Have an unduly narrow perspective of the problem at hand. Too many people view losing weight as simply a matter of cutting back on what they eat. In reality, it’s an issue of basic physics – balancing energy in with energy out. As such, if you really want to lose weight and keep it off you need to increase your level of physical activity and eat in moderation.

Ignore the need to maintain their level of lean body mass. A common tendency among individuals who exercise is to focus their activity efforts only on aerobic exercise. In this process, they lose muscle mass, which is replaced by fat when they inevitably regain whatever weight they lost. In turn, their metabolic rate as well as the number of calories that they need to maintain their current weight, is diminished. This adjustment creates a cycle that is counterproductive to sustained weight loss.

Misinterpret food labels. It is extremely important for individuals who want to control their weight to be aware of the fact that labels that state that a particular foodstuff is either “no fat” or “no sugar” does not mean “no calories“.

Try to lose too much weight too rapidly. Research shows that a weight-reduction program that involves a slow and steady loss (i.e., approximately 1lb or less per week for women and 2lbs or less for men) has the best chance for success, particularly when it is combined with an effort to change any inappropriate lifestyle habits.

Believe that spot reduction is possible. The concept of spot reducing is a complete myth. No exercise will eliminate fat from a specific area of the body, just as no change in your caloric intake will guarantee that the fat will melt away in the area of the body you most want to address. As a rule, the pattern in which you lose body fat is genetically predetermined.

Mistake water lost through sweating for actual fat and weight loss. Your body has millions of sweat glands that cover your skin, excreting water and electrolytes. When you exercise, the amount of water (sweat) that is perspired increases in an effort by your body to keep you cool and regulate your body temperature. The water you lose from perspiring can mislead you into believing that you’ve lost more fat and body weight than you may have actually lost. Such water weight is replaced when you subsequently consume fluids.

Buy into the “magic beans” theory. Selling supplements and related pills and powders and potions that will purportedly somehow facilitate a person’s efforts to lose weight is a multi-billion dollar a year industry. Other than being a waste of money and a purveyor of false hope for individuals who are looking for an easy and quick-fix approach to losing weight, such items also can have negative health consequences.

Follow unproven and spurious dieting advice. The number of unsound diets that target unsuspecting individuals with undocumented claims and unhealthy practices seems to grow exponentially every year. Truth be known, these diets share at least two traits – they don’t work, and they may actually be harmful (physically and financially) to a person who tries them.

Consider a surgical solution to their “weight” problem. Some individuals consider a surgical option for losing weight. In this regard, two procedures tend to receive the most attention – liposuction and gastric bypass surgery. Liposuction involves the removal of fat from specific regions in the body. Gastric bypass surgery, on the other hand, is a procedure that makes the stomach smaller and allows food to bypass part of the small intestine, resulting in fewer calories being absorbed. Although guidelines vary, gastric bypass surgery is generally reserved for severely obese individuals.

8 Common Myths of Diet

Posted: August 23, 2011 by Bizzy Amor in Myth Busting, Nutrition
Tags: ,
1

Taking Vitamin C prevents colds. With all due respect to the late Linus Pauling and
his widely publicized theory on the relationship between vitamin C and the cold virus,
research on the subject has not found that taking vitamin C helps to ward off those
unwanted sniffles. On the other hand, studies have shown that vitamin C may (in some
instances) slightly shorten the duration of a cold.

Consuming more protein builds bigger muscles. Ingesting additional protein (in
whatever form – meat, pills, powder, etc) will not help most individuals develop larger
muscles. Your protein daily requirement is based on your body weight. Most individuals
meet their needs through food alone. If you eat more protein than what your body needs
on any given day, most of the excess will be converted to and stored as fat. As such,
exceeding the recommended daily allowance for protein can be, at best, a waste of time
and money.

2% milk is 98% fat free. Not surprisingly, food marketers – in an effort to encourage you
to buy their products – often engage in advertising that is misleading. For example, a
food label may proclaim that a particular foodstuff is fat free to a specific percentage. In
the case of 2% milk, the number refers to the relative weight of the fat in the product, a
factor that is inconsequential and misleading. In reality, what you really want to know
with regard to the fat content of milk is the percentage of fat calories in the milk itself.
A cup of 2% milk for example contains 35% fat calories (42.5 calories of the total 120
calories).

Eating low fat foods will not cause you to gain weight. Keep in mind that the labels “fat
free” and “low fat” do not mean no calories. For example, non fat and low fat foods
could easily be full of sugar and high calories. Controlling your body weight is a by
product of maintaining the appropriate balance between the number of calories you ingest
and the number of calories that your body uses. Excessive calorie intake, regardless of
whether it comes from “healthy” non fat or low fat foods, will promote weight gain.

If consuming some of a particular nutrient of food is considered healthy, eating more
of that foodstuff will provide even greater benefits. Your body needs a specific amount
of nutrients (carbs, fat, protein, vitamins, minerals and water) to function properly.
Exceeding that level will not give you an extra “boost”. In fact, ingesting too much of
some nutrients can be potentially harmful.

Antioxidants can help prevent types of cancer and heart disease. Eating foods that
are relatively rich in antioxidants (e.g., beta carotene and vitamin C and E) or taking
antioxidant supplements has not been found to prevent either cancer and heart disease
– despite numerous studies that have investigated the matter. To date, no conclusive
evidence exists that shows that antioxidants lower the risk of either medical condition.

Foodstuffs that are labeled “natural” or “herbal” are always good for you. Foods can
be “natural” or “herbal” and still have negative health consequences. Neither term is a synonym for harmless or non – addictive nor guarantees that a particular food contains the essential nutrients your body needs. In fact the opposite may true. Cocaine and nicotine,
for example, are also naturally occurring plant by-products.

Healthy eating represents the end of appetizing meals. Eating in a sensible healthy
manner does not have to be an exercise where you force yourself to consume poor-tasting
food at the expense of mouthwatering delectable alternatives. What it does involve,
however, is determining what foods are good for you and learning how to prepare them
to “delight” your taste buds. It also entails making good eating habits an integral part of
your daily living,