A New Twist on Cravings

Lately MSM came out with some interesting news regarding specific ways food manufacturers literally keep us craving the unhealthy fattening foods.  "Dr. David A. Kessler, the dynamic and controversial former head of the Food and Drug Administration who took on big tobacco in the 1990s, now takes on the food industry in “The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite” (Rodale, 2009). In his book, Kessler pulls back the curtain to reveal how the food industry and its scientists really operate." .

Food manufacturers don't even use secret ingredients. They use numerous forms of  sugar, fat, salt and  an excessive amount of it all. Not a big surprise is it? But it's how they so so cleverly package  it together.  It’s not even one single thing that entices us to eat more of it when we are beyond full.

Manufacturers take any food such as meat, potatoes or bread.Then see what they do!  One example is potato skins: “The potato is hollowed out and the skin is fried, which provides a substantial surface area for more fat pickup. Then there’s an added combination of bacon bits, sour cream, and cheese. The result: an initial large serving of a high calorie starch, added with fat on fat on fat on fat, then loaded with salt you often don't even taste.”  Get the idea?  Most of us don’t even realize how all those combos keep us craving for more of the same while making us heavier and heavier.

And it doesn’t stop there either. They make food less chewable, full of more additives, therefore easier to consume more of, kind of like “adult baby food”  which tastes good and is just too easy to keep eating excessive amounts of it. An examble would be the innocent sounding grilled chicken which is injected with  so much salt, sugar and fat that it disolves the connective tissue making it melt in your mouth,  with very little chewing required. Please read the the full story and be amazed how we are being hooked into obesity!

Weight Loss Made Easy (Method # 2)

Sometimes when you look at the total number of pounds you need to lose to reach your goal it can be a bit overwhelming…

You think to yourself how you will ever be able to reach that goal and as a result you over complicate the weight loss process.

I recommend that instead of concentrating on the total amount of weight you have to lose just focus on what your goal is for that week. It may seem like a simple concept, but this one has real power to it. If you now think to yourself that you only need to lose 1.5 pounds this week it’s a lot more acceptable in your mind. As a result, you be more likely to believe that you can actually achieve this realistic number and will take the proper steps needed to make it happen.

The nice part is that if you end up losing more weight it’s a bonus and over the course of 3 months that 1.5 pounds per week adds up to almost 20 pounds of total weight loss!

Successful Weight Loss Motivating Strategies (Method #1)

All this week I am going to share with you 5 ways to motivate you to lose weight and reach your goals.

These 5 ways are all currently being used by some of our weight loss studio clients with great success. Keep in mind that not every method works for each individual which is why I think it’s important that I give you 5 different ways to help you make your weight loss goals come true.

The 1st way to get you motivated is to purchase that fitted pair of jeans or dress you’ve had your eye on and have been wanting... The only catch is that you have to buy it at your “goal weight size.” For example, I have one client who is currently a size 14 and she wants to fit back into a size 8 (a place where she hasn’t been in years).

So what we had her do is purchase the exact pair of jeans she wanted in a size 8 and hang them front and center in her closet so that she sees them every morning and evening. We’ve found this to be highly motivating for her and I’m happy to report that she’s currently down to a size 10 and almost at her goal!

This example will work in many different ways and it may just be the push to get you to your goals.

In part 2, I’ll be back with another method to keep your motivation high and on track to achieving your weight loss goals!

Cool, Refreshing, and Low in Calories

Elaine blogged this weekend about eating ice cream. As much as ice cream is a summer treat it is not the most diet friendly, especially when a serving is only 1/2 cup and can have up to 200 calories. Instead of eating ice cream when you need a cool and refreshing treat try one of these that are lower in calories and fat:

Chilled Watermelon Soup

Yellow Gazpacho

Banana Coffee Crunch Smoothie

Wild Berry Pops

Melon Slush

What's the Scoop on Ice Cream?

Recently I saw how twenty-five years ago our former President Reagan declared July to be National Ice Cream Month (as if the jelly beans weren't enough to contribute to America's desire for sweets). The Mercury News boasted how popular ice-cream sales nationwide are at about $702, 858, 3000 just in the month of July. (They should have reminded us of the obesity and diabetic epidemic along with it.) Don't get me wrong here, I enjoy moderate amounts of ice cream myself now and then, but really, is there a need to push the sale of it, especially when there are viable great tasting alternatives?

Try deliciously creamy Fage fat free yogurt (it needs only a hint of sweetener; stevia is my choice for a trul low calorie natural sweetener) with fresh strawberries or blueberries. I can work that in my daily diet guilt free every single day with about 160 calories compared to probably more than double that considering ice cream serving sizes and flavors. (The serving size for regular ice cream is a half cup for about 150-160 calories, but who eats a mere half cup as a serving, or even just the plain varieties which can double or triple the amount of calories.)  Fage yogurt and fruit gives me a real nutrition punch (and the natural benefit of probiotics to support the digestive tract) rather than just a bunch of empty sugar calories that I may end up feeling guilty about especially if I eat more than the tease of a half cup serving.

I've also been know to make my own natural smoothies/shakes with a frozen banana, vanilla extract, stevia, protein powder and ice. Yum! It truly is what you get used to. I literally haven't "craved" ice cream in years because I use great tasting substitutions.

What's your favorite "scoop solution"

Man Loses 401 Pounds!

In 2003 David Smith weighed a whopping 650 pounds and spent all his time inside his house. He refused to go out in public because of the way people would stare and laugh at him. He used food and soda to comfort him during the day…

Flash forward to 2009 and David, now 32 years old, has lost 401 pounds!

He was able to lose all this weight in just 26 months with the help of a healthy eating plan and working out with a personal trainer to keep him motivated.

Was it a journey for him to lose weight? Absolutely, but he looks amazing now and he is a completely different person and who now loves his life! He is no longer ashamed to go out in public…

You may not have 400 pounds to lose, but I hope you look at David’s story and realize that you too have it in you to achieve great things and create your ideal body!

You can see the video at: Man Loses 401 Pounds

New From Starbucks

Walk into your local Starbucks and you are going to see some changes. These changes all came from My Starbucks Ideas on their website.

Here are the changes you will see:
No artificial flavors or dyes
No trans fats
No high fructose corn syrup
New Vivanno smoothie with real banana and have less than 280 calories per serving
Gluten free cake orange valencia cake

There will be other healthy changes at Starbucks coming so see what's at your local store. Other options for healthy choices at Starbucks are:
Fruit cups
Yogurt parfaits
Drinks with low fat or fat-free milk
Starbucks Oatmeal
Unsweetened teas and coffee

How Exercise Can Reduce Stress and Help You Lose Weight

Starting at 5pm every night I begin meeting with my “after work” clients who come in to exercise after a long day at the office. Although they may all have different body compositions I can tell you that the one thing they all have in common is high levels of “stress.”

Jason P. Block, MD, MPH, of Harvard found in his research that “For men and women who had a higher body mass index, stress from job-related demands, difficulty paying bills, or depression and anxiety led to weight gain.”

Dr. Block also went on to say, "Our findings show that stress should be recognized as a threat to the well-being of American adults, especially those who are already overweight."

So although you may not be able to control your work environment, you can control your response to it. One way is in your reaction to the situation and the other is to release some of that tension by exercise every morning, mid-day, or after work. Choose the outlet that works best for you. I find that even a 20 minute walk can be enough to unwind, breathe, and relax.

What are some of your favorite healthy ways to beat stress?

Source: American Journal of Epidemiology

Fat Fighting Foods

Most fruits and vegetables could be considered fat fighting foods but some foods contain specific nutrients that give them a little edge when it comes to fighting fat. Here are some foods that might give you some extra fat fighting properties:

• Remember the old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away?” Well not only do apples taste good they are just plain good for you, and they can help with the weight loss.  Apples are just so satisfying, either on or off any diet. They are delightfully crispy, crunchy, filling and full of fiber, particularly pectin, which may be particularly helpful with weight loss and fighting fat.
• Another fat fighting food food is fennel. Both the bulb and stem can be consumed, raw or cooked. I like it raw as a  refreshingly different salad with carrots and  then  use  a lemon and olive oil dressing. Or gently cook it with a sweet cooking wine and olive oil. Its mild sweet flavor is delicious. For centuries fennel has been known to be a helpful digestive aid which might help metabolize fats. It has been suggested that it may help promote better cholesterol and help cleanse the colon which many health authorities now believe may contribute to a better weight loss.
• Another fat fighting food is the radish, typically used in salads. It’s very low in calories, fat and cholesterol, but high in iron, magnesium and other nutrients. This little veggie helps clean the body’s mucous membrane and dissolve fat in cells.

Just remember you still have to watch your total calorie consumption in your daily diet so make sure you know how many calories you should be consuming every day and  track your foods for weight loss.

Should You be Training with Kettlebells?

With all the talk about using kettlebells lately I wanted to clear the air about whether or not you NEED to use them in your own workout program.

The short answer is you do NOT.

There is simply NO exercise that you absolutely must do to get the results you are looking for. Kettlebells are fantastic, but if you don’t know how to use them and don’t want to learn that’s okay… you can still lose weight and reshape your body in other ways.

I just want to you to keep in mind that when you are training on your own you should be doing exercises that you feel comfortable doing so that you stay safe and injury free. That doesn’t mean these exercises should be easy to complete, but you should have a good handle on how to use proper form.