There are times on your weight loss journey when progress can come to a halt. Days or weeks can go by without you seeing movement on the scale, and it can get downright frustrating. After working with thousands of clients, I’ve noticed certain patterns that can cause this weight loss stoppage. Here are 3 of those patterns.
1) Eating more than you think you are.
Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Zone Delivery Service, and other diet systems have one undeniable benefit to them – they define for the average person how large an actual “serving” is. Most of us underestimate the volume of food we eat (and consequently, underestimate the number of calories we consume in a day).
By fixing in your head what a serving size or “portion” of food looks like, we can better estimate (and consequently, evaluate and calibrate) the amount of food we eat at each meal. Keep in mind, when it comes to weight loss, you need to take in less calories than you burn each day.
Two good rules of thumb:
A portion of meat (3 oz.) is the size of a deck of cards.
A portion of carbohydrates (1 cup) is the size of a tennis ball.
Please remember to fill up on non-starchy vegetables – they are full of nutrients, have very little impact on blood sugar, and contain little in the way of calories.
2) Not eating frequently enough.
It is a social custom to eat “three square meals” a day. While this may do for social purposes, for weight loss, you will want to aim for more frequent feedings. It is recommended that you consume a minimum of 5-6 small meals each day. By doing so, your body gets the signal that food is abundant, and there is no need to conserve energy.
Additionally, frequent feedings maximize your metabolism, as your body is constantly busy, burning calories by digesting your meals. By not letting too much time pass between meals, you stabilize blood sugar levels since they never really get the chance to drop. By keeping your blood sugar stable, your hunger levels are minimized, decreasing the chances that you will be tempted to overeat at your next meal.
3) Choosing to drink your calories instead of eating them.
This is a very common problem among those attempting weight loss, due to the abundance of “healthy” diet smoothies, protein concoctions, and weight loss shakes. There are 2 factors to keep in mind when relying on these liquid meal replacements.
First, many of the liquid diet shakes on the market and all fruit smoothies have an abundance of sugar in them. This causes an immediate surge in energy followed by a huge crash due to the release of insulin to control the blood sugar rise. This dramatic shift in blood hormone levels (particularly insulin levels) is something you want to avoid, both for health reasons and for weight loss.
Secondly, most weight loss shakes are devoid of fiber. Fiber is one of your most precious allies when you are dieting. It helps you feel full and blunts the rise in insulin levels when all that sugar hits your bloodstream. While fruit smoothies do contain some of the fiber from the pulp of the fruit, a better strategy would be to eat the actual fruits contained in the smoothie.
Lastly, the amount of calories that can be concentrated into a shake or smoothie is far greater than the equivalent volume of actual food. A 16 oz fruit smoothie may contain as many as 600 calories, and will not fill you up all that much! On the other hand, eating 600 calories of fruit will prove to be much more than the typical person can manage in a single sitting (at least, I personally don’t know anyone that can eat more than 2 pounds of bananas at a single sitting!).
Think about it- when making major dietary changes, you want to get the most out of your calories. Wouldn’t you rather fill up, rather than drink something and be hungry again soon after?
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Some Sound Colon Cleanse Advice - A Great Start to Good Health Knowing Just When to Colon Cleanse
While it is widely recommended that we colon cleanse periodically, it may be hard to know when to colon cleanse. Your body will usually tell you when you need to cleanse. Below are some of the symptoms that you may experience when you need to cleanse your colon.
If your colon needs to be cleansed you may experience bloating, gas, and a bounce between constipation and diarrhea. This is called IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome. This is an actual medical condition and for some, the symptoms will remain despite colon cleansing, but for the majority of people, IBS is an indication that the colon is struggling and needs to be cleaned.
While a general feeling of sluggishness occasionally may mean that you need more rest, a persistent feeling of sluggishness may be another indicator that you need to cleanse your colon. Since essential vitamins and minerals are absorbed through the colon during the digestive process, if your colon isn't clean and working properly, your body won't be able to absorb all the vitamins and minerals that it needs to keep you feeling healthy.
You may be surprised once you cleanse your colon to find out how much of your health was affected by a dirty colon. You can end up losing a good deal of weight from having all the excess waste removed. You could end up with more energy, better looking skin and hair. While colon cleansing is not an absolute and final answer to good health, it is a great step in the right direction. Just make sure to maintain your newly cleaned colon, or you could end up back where you started.
And, check out http://www.ColonCleansingEbook.com to learn more about colon cleansing. While you're there pick up your Free Report that outlines the 5 things you must know before making your own homemade colon cleansing or buying a colon cleansing product.
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