"A Biblical Approach to Weight Management"

The subject of God is something many of us have probably not thought of much in terms of weight management. But apparently that idea is catching on in mainstream America. Jordan Rubin author of The Maker's Diet "thinks that many people will rely on their faith with God to be disciplined." His diet plan consists mainly of very simple unprocessed foods, certainly not a bad idea and something I certainly encourage everyone to embrace.

What is going on now is a "biblical approach to weight management," managing the notions of weight, willpower and the empty spiritual hole inside of us which I classify as emotional eating.

What are my thoughts? Twelve step programs have been around for years using a spiritual approach for alcoholism, food, and various other addictions. (Remember spiritual is different than religion.) For many it can and does work. Other spiritual groups may be effective too if people are willing to really confront their emotional based issues instead of "stuffing" their feelings with food.

Do Meal Replacements Work for Weight Loss? - 2

Yesterday I started discussing liquid diets and the challenges of being on such a plan. Today I'll go into that a bit more.

• Liquid diets do not teach a person how to eat for health. These plans frequently limit fruit, vegetables, and whole grain intake which are essential for health including nutrients, phytonutrients, antioxidants, and fiber.
• Shakes would not teach a person about balancing meals adequately. Food balance is especially important considering that diabetes is epidemic right now. It is crucial for blood sugar regulation and controlling food cravings.
• Liquid meal replacements tend to consist of soy and/or milk, two foods that many people are sensitive to and should not be consuming regularly.
• Many liquid diets have synthetic vitamins which are not absorbed well by the body.
• Using shakes for meals would make the transition into maintenance more difficult.

I would utilize meal replacements if you need a jump start to weight loss and will only be using it for a short time. And even though I generally believe in whole foods for meals, a healthier shake might work as an occasional quick breakfast or lunch.  This would still be better than skipping a meal entirely.

Do Meal Replacement Drinks Work for Weight Loss? - 1

Many diets flood the market claiming to help you lose weight. Still popular are meal replacement drinks or liquid diets in the form of shakes.  They may work (at least temporarily) because they automatically cut excess calories out. In other words, much of the guesswork of calorie restriction with food intake has been taken out of the dieter's hands. (This is a relevant issue, as I've said repeatedly in my blogs, many people are in denial about how many calories they are actually consuming regularly, then complain about not losing weight!)

Even though shakes can help people lose weight quickly there are some drawbacks I want to point out:

• Many meal replacements are just too low in calories for most people. They are typically about 250 calories each. Adding a moderate dinner meal brings the calorie range to 1000 or 1200. For older people, middle aged women, and those who cannot exercise much, this calorie range may work effectively, but for the rest of the population it probably would not be enough food.
• Consuming just a shake at breakfast and lunch may make a person overly hungry resulting in over eating at dinner.
• Meal replacements can be boring. They lack variety and many complain they don’t get to "chew."  They really aren’t for the long term (I would say no more than 2-3 months).

Tomorrow I'll go into a few of the other challenges of these diet plans.

Execute and Evaluate Your Plan

Truly successful people do this everyday in their work, so why wouldn't you apply it to your weight loss goals?

First Step: Execute Your Plan

Commit yourself to a diet and exercise program and then give it an honest try. Stick with the program and get the most of it by following the nutrition and exercise prescriptions. You'll need to complete weekly progress reports, weigh-ins, and other assessments to keep track of in your journal.

Second Step: Evaluate Your Plan

This is the step that you may be missing. It's crucial to actually look back over your data and see how you've improved over the past 2, 4, or 8 weeks. After you’ve been dieting and exercising for a while, your progress reports will allow you to evaluate how a particular program worked for you. The results will also let you see how well you were able to comply with what was asked of you.

No one is asking you to rearrange your life, but you will need to make some compromises if you truly want to achieve a healthy body weight and lifestyle. Having a plan, executing it, and then evaluating your results is how the pros do it… and so should you.

Instant Results?

I guess the answer depends on your opinion and what you were expecting to happen when you began exercising.

The truth is that you can expect to see instant results when you begin exercising. The right program can help you feel better the very first day after breaking a sweat. It's also not uncommon to lose weight your first week in to a diet and exercise program. After all, you are dedicating yourself to living a healthier lifestyle and with that pledge comes some sacrifice. It means having to cut out some of your favorite treats that you know are holding you back from losing weight. It also means increasing your activity level and expending more calories than you take in.

So, although your long-term results come from the cumulative effect of dieting and training, it's nice to know that you can lose weight and feel great your very first week.

Core-Training: Diffuse Lower Back Pain

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between those with a healthy back and others who are  constantly suffering from back pain?

Core strength and proper alignment!

Since most every daily activity engages the muscles of the core, it is essential that they be in proper working order. This corset of muscles is meant to stabilize, accelerate, and decelerate the body while it is active.

That's why even the smallest movement is enough to drop a 250lb man to his knees in excruciating back pain if he is experiencing any type of nerve impingement or misalignment of his spine.

Many back problems can be cured with proper postural alignment and core strengthening. By realigning the spine and activating the deep muscles of the core, you can now move through life pain free and without worry of becoming reinjured.

Mistakes Happen

I hope you all got through the challenges of Mother's Day. My accolades to those of you that did! I know how taunting food can be in any social event.

For those of you that were not so successful please don't berate yourself. Just remember one of the most important things is how you react to a mistake.  I'm a firm believer that we should use any deviation as a learning experience.

If you continue to dwell on how bad the mistake is, does that make you feel any better? Of course it doesn’t. But if you use it as something that you can learn from it puts things in a perspective. Think of  slips as "dress rehearsals" for maintenance.

Do you have another event coming up soon? What were your mistakes this past weekend? Figure out exactly what they are and how they happened. Now determine how can you get through the next event without causing a lot of harm to your current eating plan. What can you do differently?

Readers, please share with us how you get through social events successfully.

Mother's Day Express Workout

Today's post is dedicated to all those busy moms out there.

I know you put your children and your family first and that's why I want you to take 20 minutes a day to focus on yourself. So in between picking the kids up from school, sports practice, music lessons, or preparing dinner I want you to sneak in a quick workout.

This workout will boost your energy levels and leave you feeling great about the work you just put into keeping your body the way you want it to look.

Here's a quick and easy body weight workout you can do right at home:

Warm-up: Jumping Jacks
Complete 3 sets of 30 jumping jacks before moving on to your exercises.

Exercise #1: Couch Push-ups
Place both hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart on the edge of the couch. Lower your body down slowly to right before your chest touches, then push back up to the starting push-up position. Repeat as many repetitions as you can with good form.

Exercise #2: Prisoner Squats
This exercise is great because it forces you to work on your posture as you burn calories. Begin this exercise standing in front of a chair. Clasp both hands behind your head. Slowly squat backwards with your hips as you sit down towards the chair. Work to keep your elbows back and your head and chest up as you squat. As you feel your hips touch the chair, push back up to a standing position. Repeat 15-20x.

Try to complete exercises #1 and #2 without any rest in between sets. After you complete both, rest 1 minute and then repeat 1-2 additional rounds.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day

As a mother you probably put your children first in many areas of your life. But please remember this, don’t do it at the expense of your own health, weight, and personal happiness.

You know when you are flying in a plane and the flight attendant gives a demo of what to do if the plane will crash? If you have a child with you they tell you to give the oxygen mask first to yourself and then to the child. Why? If something happens to you what will happen to your child?

The same should hold true in life. If you give too much to your children at the expense of your health, weight and own happiness you will have your own kind of "crash." Your health goes downhill, you look older than your years, and you have become overweight and unhappy about how you look, feel, and think. You may even become resentful. What kind of a mother are you then?

It's all about balance. Remember the kids will grow up one day and you will only have yourself (and your husband). When your whole life is about just the kids, what will you have left after they are gone? Older moms share this wisdom with your daughters and sons.

Your children are important but you are as important as your children, so take care of yourself too!

Happy Mother's Day to mothers everywhere! Whatever you are doing today I hope it is filled with love and happiness and that you are fondly remembering the day you first became a mother.

Mother's Day Eating Challenges

Are you going out for Mother's Day brunch or is family making you a special meal?
Here are some suggestions to get you through the day. These strategies can work for brunch, dinner, or just about anywhere.

• Moms, this day is supposed to be about what you want. Be lovingly assertive about your needs.

• Have a plan. Which restaurant will give you the best healthy, but enjoyable choices? (Go online and check out some menu options.) Ask for what you really need from family members.  How will you manage portion control? Etc.
• Think: How do you want to feel at the end of the day? Watch for the holiday mentality of, "Well it's my day I'll eat whatever I want..." or "I'll get back on track on Monday."
• Prior to the main event consume a light snack without fats and carbs. You will get plenty of those later. By eating light before the big meal you won't be starving and tempted to overeat.
• Choose to balance your food choices from all the food groups rather than just  consuming all the heavy carb and fatty items. Or take tiny amounts of the things you only enjoy and make that your meal. Make a commitment to write down everything you have eaten to keep yourself accountable.
• When you are hungry later in the day, figure out what food groups you haven’t had and make that your meal.  When out, most people do not load up on lean protein, vegetables, yogurt, milk, or even fruit. Those should be the choices for a meal later.
  

Check my old blogs from December for additional ideas around holiday eating.

The Feel Good Workout

Everyone has their own definition of what a feel good workout is. For some it's going for a walk and for others it might be completing really strenuous weight lifting exercises.

Luckily, we are all entitled to choose what works best for us and most of us feel like we know what feels right for our bodies. The problem arises though, when you've become accustomed to relaxing a little too much and sitting for the majority of our day. After working in front of a computer or desk for 8 or more hours you can imagine how sluggish your body can become.

At this point your body may feel tired, but not from exerting too much energy. Actually, it's just the opposite. Since you've spent so much time in a stressful, yet stationary position your body starts to become deconditioned and any extra effort than is typically expended becomes a chore.

Keep this in mind when you're completing your workouts. If you're a true beginner you can start by walking, but then gradually ask your body to step it up to the next level. Keep pushing your limits with gradual incremental increases. If you do, you will start to see a transformation take place where you feel more energetic and full of life.

Remember that your "feel good" workout may not feel like so much fun as you're pushing yourself to recreate your ideal body, but after you finish your last set or end your cardio you'll feel great!

Cut the Cravings with the Right Food Choices - 2

Yesterday I started discussing cravings and how to deal with them by making the correct food choices and combining them properly. Today I am going to finish up with more ways to control cravings.

3. Examine what sweets are currently in your diet.  Are you having a lot of artificial sweeteners? What about that hidden sugar hiding in the Coffeemate, or mochas/syrups in your coffee?  Examine where you may be getting extra sugars and start eliminating them from your diet. Both sugar and artificial sweeteners in these items and the coffee may all contribute to a spike in blood sugar and the cravings that come with it.

4. Consume a healthy breakfast from the food groups suggested in "number one" on yesterday's blog. Make your carbohydrate choice a whole grain and high fiber (at least three to five grams of fiber). Many people make the mistake of consuming just carbohydrates (cereal and fruit juice) for breakfast which is a big mistake for most. Or worse, they skip breakfast entirely and just have coffee drinks. Skipping this first meal of the day may play havoc with blood sugar.

5. Eat three balanced meals a day (again, refer to "number one" from yesterday) and a few healthy snacks in between meals.

What helps you with your food cravings?

Alternating High & Low Repetitions for Best Results

In my last post you got to see which was a more powerful method of toning your muscles - higher or lower repetition sets.

Today we're going to put it all together in one easy-to-use and understand workout program. This routine is going to be simple to follow and it will take you less than 30 minutes to complete 3 days per week. And, you're only going to have to remember 3 exercises for the whole week!

Here's the muscle toning and defining program:

Day 1: Monday
Dumbbell ball chest presses x 2-3 sets x 15 reps
Dumbbell 1 arm row x 2-3 sets x 15 reps each side
Dumbbell Romanian deadlifts (straight legs) x 2-3 sets x 15 reps

Day 2: Wednesday
Dumbbell ball chest presses x 4 sets x 6 reps
Dumbbell 1 arm row x 4 sets x 6 reps each side
Dumbbell Romanian deadlifts (straight legs) x 4 sets x 6 reps

Day 3: Friday
Dumbbell ball chest presses x 3 sets x 10 reps
Dumbbell 1 arm row x 3 sets x 10 reps each side
Dumbbell Romanian deadlifts (straight legs) x 3 sets x 10 reps

Just remember to adjust your weighs according to your rep range. On the lower rep days you will need to increase your resistance to make up for the limited number of repetitions.

Good luck and if you need to see what these exercises look like in action check out their descriptions in previous posts under the exercise part of my blog.

Cut the Cravings with the Right Food Choices - 1

Many people discuss cravings as things they absolutely can't control.  But guess what, you can control them if you start by choosing the right foods in your normal diet. Keep in mind though, if you are dealing with emotional cravings they have to be dealt with as well because food alone is still only one part of dealing with cravings.

Today I want to discuss cravings that occur because of how we might eat.

1. Many food yearnings have to do with stabilizing your blood sugar levels. Lean protein, small amounts of healthy fat, and fiber all contribute to healthy blood sugar balance.  Including these food groups in the right balance at every meal can prevent your insulin levels from climbing too high.  Frequently when blood sugar levels spike and then fall rapidly it causes us to crave things or be hungry when we've really had enough.

2. Always include high-fiber, nutrient dense (but low-calorie) foods such as fiber-rich vegetables, fruits, and whole grains to help you to feel fuller longer. Your body is less likely to crave things when it has the proper nutrients. Eliminate or moderate the high sugar, white flour, low nutrient, and low fiber foods in your diet.

Tomorrow I'll finish up with other tips to cut the cravings.

Getting Lean & Tone: More or Less Repetitions?

Some people find that they enjoy lifting heavier weights for fewer repetitions, while others prefer lifting slightly lighter weights for more repetitions.

Let's classify that higher rep sets means performing an exercise for more than 12 repetitions. We'll consider rep ranges between 6-12 to be lower rep sets.

The key to changing your physique and developing lean and defined muscles is to lift challenging weights when going through your workouts.

So what exactly is a "challenging weight?"

It means trading in your dumbbells or other resistance for a weight that you take to momentary muscular failure. Of course, you don't want to look like one of those guys in the gym swinging the weights around like a bucking bronco, so make sure to keep an eye on your form. This will force you to concentrate on the muscles that are working and really develop the mind-muscle connection.

In terms of choosing lower or higher reps for better results, you should plan to incorporate both. This isn't a wishy-washy answer either… you actually get better results when you work in all repetition ranges.

Tomorrow, I'll show you how to design a program using just 3 exercises while working in high, medium, and low rep ranges. 

Disordered Eating or Eating Disorder?

Most of last week I discussed "disordered eating" from Self magazine. I spent so much time on this because these forms of eating are largely ignored by many dieters.  It seems minimized when it is so serious among such a large population. (And the men were not even included, although I am sure they also struggle with these same issues.)

As I have mentioned previously I think the last few categories are actually real eating disorders and in my 25 year experienced opinion, these unhealthy patterns should not be sugar coated simply as a form of "disordered eating." Frequently they can and do lead to more serious painful patterns of physical and emotional harm to the person.

Keep in mind dieters frequently don’t fit into just one category. Even Self magazine states, "Many disordered eaters piece together a painful mix of destructive habits over the years,... ricocheting from restricting to binging to purging, etc." The initial goal for Self readers was simple awareness of the behaviors. It is a good starting point for sure. From awareness it is up to the person to decide if she is really ready for help and support in this area of disordered eating. This takes an enormous amount of courage to acknowledge if you have this problem. I applaud anyone that can take this step to reach out. It's so easy to think, "I can do this by myself."

Readers please share your experiences with us on this serious and neglected subject.

Better Weight Loss Method: Diet or Exercise?

After meeting with a client today, they told me they had read that one of these methods was superior to the other in terms of weight loss.

They didn't know what to believe and have seen so many contradicting articles supporting one or the other.

Well, I'm here to tell you there is no one superior way to lose weight. While I agree that it may be easier at times to cut out 500 calories by eating less, I don't feel that severe calorie restricting diets lead to long-term weight loss. That's really the key point here… long term results. Pretty much any hardcore diet or exercise program will work for a few weeks, but then what? You can't maintain a super strict program forever.

Keep in mind that it's also very difficult to limit your physical activity and still hope to eat the amount of food that satisfies you. If you use less energy, you simply can't eat as many calories which leads to lower levels of compliance and as a result, less results.

Don't try to decide on what would be a better way for you to lose weight this spring. Instead, start creating a new healthier lifestyle that involves both proper nutrition and exercise. Increase your activity level and begin to eat healthier meals and snacks.

Every little bit counts and it's really the sum of the whole that gets you to your end goal.

If you're new to the NutritionData.com blog make sure to check back daily for cutting edge and useful tips on how to lose weight.

Categories of Emotional Eating - 3

Today I will finish up on the last categories of Self's categories of "disordered eating" patterns.

Category 5: "Food addicts eat to soothe stress, deal with anger, even celebrate a happy event; they think about food nearly all the time."

My comment: Many times this individual will say, "I just enjoy food." It's frequently a lot more than that. If a person is that "addicted" to food and eats all the time it can also be a response to emotions that the person is not dealing with. I call it "stuffing feelings."

Category 6: "Extreme exercisers work out despite illness, injury or exhaustion and solely for weight loss; they are devastated if they miss a session."

My comment: In addition to the general public, professional actors, dancers and sports advocates/athletes can find themselves caught up in this serious disorder affecting physical/emotional health, all in the name of their "sport" or activity.

Tomorrow I will discuss my final comments on this subject.

Categories of Emotional Eating - 2

Today I will continue on with the various forms of emotional eating (disordered eating) from Self magazine.

Category 3: "Career dieters may not know what to eat without a plan to follow; despite their efforts, they're more likely than other types to be overweight or obese."

My comment: These are dieters that probably have never learned about maintaining their weight or even healthy eating. They probably live in the black and white extremes of dieting and overeating. They need to genuinely learn and embrace healthy eating from a nutrition professional and possibly need emotional support.

Category 4: "Purgers are obsessed with ridding their body of unwanted calories and bloat by using laxatives, diuretics or occasional vomiting."

My comment: This is bulimia as far as I am concerned. It should be recognized and treated as such with professional help. According to Self's poll, 31% engaged in this behavior. This indicates a very serious trend.

The last two categories will be covered tomorrow.

Cardio Secrets

In my last post, I compared the calorie burning ability of outdoor jogging, biking, and swimming. Most people would have guessed that jogging would clearly beat out the other two forms of exercise in terms of total calories expended over a 45-minute time period.

But the truth was each activity burned the same amount of calories!

So what's the reason for this seemingly impossible scenario? The secret is that each form of exercise was done at the same level of intensity throughout the workout. That demonstrates it's not the activity, but the intensity of the activity that burns more calories.

Using this information, you can now see that you can choose resistance training, the elliptical, rollerblading, or another physical activity to burn your specific calorie goal for the day. Another secret is that if you choose an activity that is harder for you to complete, then you'll burn more calories in less time. For example, if you are always using the upright bike and you were to go jogging for the day, you'd burn more calories from your body having not yet acclimated itself to a workout of that kind.

So now you know that although it may be easier to get your heart rate up by doing certain movements, you can still get the caloric burn you want no matter what the activity.

"How Many Calories Do I Burn Doing…?"

A common question you may have is how to figure out how many calories you burn when working out on  a machine or performing an activity that doesn't have a "calories burned" readout display.

To be honest, even the cardio machine displays aren't completely accurate and can only give you an estimation based on your height, weight, age, duration, intensity, and a few other statistics. They do, however, provide a great reference point from one workout to another and a useful way to calculate your calories expended to log into your daily diet and exercise journal.

The problem is what happens if you are outside going for a jog, swim, or bike ride…?

Well, just like the machines at the gym you can calculate your calories burned by using any number of fitness calories counters online.

Here's an example of a 180lb person's calories expended for 3 different 45-minute outdoor activities. Check out the comparison between the types of exercise:

Bicycling: 12-13.9 mph, leisure, moderate effort 490.9
Running: 5 mph (12 min/mile) 490.9
Swimming: crawl, moderate, 50 yds/min 490.9
(Statistics taken from primusweb.com's fitness calculator)

Notice anything peculiar?

You probably recognized that you would burn the same number of calories in your 45-minute workout no matter what method you chose for exercise. Wondering what the reason is?

We'll go over that one in the next post… stay tuned!

Deal with the Real Issues of Weight Gain

Yesterday I summarized some disturbing results from Self Magazine's latest poll on disordered eating. My message today is if you are having issues with any problems around dieting mentioned in yesterday's blog please don’t be mislead that a "diet" will fix the problems around your weight. If you are constantly struggling with this in some way, food and weight is not always the underlying issue, food is probably more about the symptom of what might be going on in your life. 

This has more to do with with the harsh realities of everyday stress, self image/self-worth issues, and living up to the media's expectations of what women should look like. If the struggle has been going on just too long I suggest seeing a qualified nutritionist who can help you get straight on eating. And, I would also strongly advise getting support with any emotional issues either through professional therapy, Overeaters Anonymous, or at the very least start journaling and exploring your feelings and emotions. Emotional issues generally don’t go away on their own. In fact, they usually get worse. The weight keeps going up and self-esteem goes down.

Fitness Video: Take This Workout on the Road

Last week I was on vacation and the gym at the hotel I was staying at was scary at best…

I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. They're the ones that you walk in to and then immediately turn right back around. This was a well-known hotel chain in a nice city, but their gym looked like it was last on the list of hotel improvements. It had to have been 20 years old, and that goes for the equipment too. Usually all I look for is a pair of dumbbells, cables, bands, or kettlebells, but this gym only left me with a few mismatched dumbbells that were pretty rusty.

So, I decided to pass and went back to my hotel room to get in a quick and efficient body weight workout. You can find the exact workout I did below. I chose to do the workout from the second video, but the first one is an excellent choice for beginners and intermediates. I also always make sure to add those particular Part 1 exercises into my programs for all levels.

Just click the play buttons below to see which video is the right fit for you.

Part 1 Video: Beginner/Intermediate Body Weight Workout

Part 2 Video: Advanced Body Weight Workout

Poll on Disordered Eating with Women

It seems American women are in big trouble with their relationships around food and dieting. Not only is America getting heavier but our viewpoints around food seem to becoming more and more distorted. Self magazine is saying: "Eating habits that women think are normal (and they are not) – such as banishing carbohydrates, skipping meals and in some cases extreme dieting – may actually be symptoms of disordered eating." In fact a recent large poll that was taken by Self magazine in conjunction with the University of North Carolina revealed that, "Sixty-five percent of American women between the ages of 25 and 45 (previous thought was that only younger women had these issues) report having disordered eating behaviors. What this translates into is that three out four American women have some kind of problem with food issues." The article goes on to say that, "An additional 10 percent of women report symptoms consistent with eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder, meaning that a total of 75 percent of all American women endorse some unhealthy thoughts, feelings or behaviors related to food or their bodies."

In my opinion and even more alarming, is that many of these women seem on the very cusp of the more serious eating disorders because they are involved in some manner of purging whether it is with laxatives, vomiting or diuretics.

I don't believe all this happening because of the obesity epidemic and media hype for losing weight. Tomorrow I will share my more specific comments on these heart breaking findings.

Categories of Emotional Eaters - 1

The last few days I have been discussing the alarming results from Self's poll on disordered eating. The next few days I will be discussing the six categories of disordered eating from Self magazine. 

Category 1: "Calorie Prisoners are terrified of gaining weight, tend to see food as good or bad and feel extremely guilty if they indulge in something that's off-limits."

My comment: There is nothing wrong with monitoring your weight (once or two times a week) but when you are obsessive about it all the time it's unhealthy.  In general, foods should not be classified as "good or bad." Obviously when you are trying to lose weight you don’t want to consume unhealthy and high calories foods every day. In fact a small indulgence now (include it in your actual food plan) and then is probably a good thing. Just learn moderation.  Excessive guilt should not be attached to it.

Category 2: "Secret eaters binge on junk food at home, in the car—wherever they won't be found out."

My comment: This relates to the issue around binging and the shame around it. Hiding food intake only adds to the whole premise of disordered eating. The more secret your eating is the more likely the burden evolves around compulsive eating. An expression I like is "Share it or wear it." In other words if you don’t share your feelings about "what's eating you" (or the eating itself) the more likely you will continue to eat over situations. When you are binging, it's not about the food!

Tomorrow I'll continue to cover the other categories listed from Self's survey.

Knowledge is Power for Weight Loss Success

Knowledge is power. You can accomplish your weight loss goals as long as you have the right information. You can educate yourself, understand what you need to know, accept it, and then do what it is you need to do to lose your weight. If you believe a fad diet will truly help you lose the weight and keep it off, you do not have the correct information to attain your goals.

Put simply, there are no shortcuts. You have to educate yourself and you have to learn how to do things correctly and consistently. So what do you need to know?

• Seek quality professional guidance, or find a reputable source of information to help you find the right food plan for you as an individual.
• A healthy food plan contains all the food groups, the correct amount of calories you need, and the correct balance of macronutrients.
• Find any additional resources you need to be successful with dining out, emotional eating, etc.
• Develop some kind of accountability for your actions
• Exercise regularly.(Refer to Steve's blogs for all kinds of tips on activity.)
• Drink at least eight glasses of water daily.

When you know the right things to do and follow through with them, you will lose weight. Knowledge is power!

Testing Your Resting Metabolic Rate

Why should you know your resting metabolic rate?

Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is a measure of the number of calories your body burns each day to maintain life. Your RMR is equal to approximately 60-70% of daily total caloric expenditure and also relates to how much lean body mass you have. Basically, your resting metabolic rate gives you the number of calories your body would need if you were to lie in bed all day and not expend any other energy or exert effort. The remaining 30% percent of calories burned come from your body's daily physical activity such as digestion, daily living, and exercise.

Why should you measure your RMR?

Your body is unique and your metabolism and caloric needs will differ from the person next to you (even if you both weigh the same amount).

Here are some factors contributing to your body's metabolism:
• Age
• Height
• Gender
• Body composition – lean body mass to fat ratio
• Activity level
• Exercise intensity and duration
• Varying physical and environmental influences

How can you test your RMR?

The whole process takes about 15 minutes and is very easy and painless to complete. A qualified, registered dietician or health professional will have you lie or sit down and then place a soft, form-fitting mask around your mouth. The RMR program they use will then calculate the oxygen and carbon dioxide data collected. It will then analyze the data and provide you with your personal resting metabolic rate.

The testing is also fairly accurate, especially with a qualified technician fitting the mask to your face. I have personally seen discrepancies of up to 5-10% when completing the test within the same week. However, this is still better than estimating your own RMR, which is often off by as much as 20-25%. For example, if you calculate your RMR to be 2,000 calories and it's really 1,500 you can see why you would be gaining weight from consuming an additional 500 calories per day…

Make sure to retest your RMR every 8-12 weeks, as your energy and caloric needs may change depending on the results you have achieved through your weight loss program.

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Waste or Waist?

One issue I hear repeatedly is "I hate to waste food." My answer to that, is it better to waste some food in a garbage can or put it directly on your own "waist?"

I grew up with parents from the depression era so I know about waste. Back then it was about all the starving people in China. I don't deny there are starving people all over the world but the logic defied me. Were my parents going to send leftover food to those people in China? Wouldn't it spoil? The point of course, is that we needed to eat the food ourselves even if we were full. So I finished my plate and many years later I still agonize about throwing food away.

So what do you do if you are still hung up on the waste issue? There are many solutions. Cook only what you need. Put smaller portions on your plate. Freeze the leftovers. If they are empty calorie foods (cakes, cookies, sweets, etc.) what's the real waste? Do these foods contribute to health in any way or just to your weight issue?  Lastly isn’t it a waste of life to die younger due to heart disease, diabetes, or some kind of cancer? Isn’t it a waste to destroy the quality of your life (both emotionally and physically)?

Make One Change per Week

I was recently speaking with some people who said they failed on their New Year's resolution. They said that they did so because they tried to do too much too soon…

It's understandable that if you stress yourself out about completely changing your routine and your way of life, you will eventually crumble under the pressure. It can be totally overwhelming when you think about how much weight you actually have to lose and how long you've been carrying it for.

The truth is, and I know you've heard it before, you didn't put the weight on overnight and you shouldn't expect to take it off that way either. However, you can lose your excess weight (body fat) by taking a systematic approach to weight loss. That means you should take it one step at a time to ensure that not only will you burn off body fat, but you will keep it off permanently.

You may be asking how this is possible when you have fallen short so many times before…

The difference is asking yourself to implement only one piece each week. That means you will make one dietary or exercise related change every seven days all while journaling every step of the way. You give yourself a grade each week and track your progress as you begin to achieve new personal bests in weight loss. This will prevent you from feeling overwhelmed from having to turn your lifestyle upside down.

Each new healthy lifestyle correction will eventually become a habit and part of your routine. You'll find that this is the real key to living well and looking great!

Learning Self-Accountability with Weight Loss

Yesterday I discussed accountability and finding support while losing weight. Today I want to elaborate on the importance of learning self-accountability.

Accountability is probably one of the biggest reasons why dieters fail while trying to lose weight. If you only have yourself to answer to each week where's the positive stress to keep you on track?  Yet, many people still insist they can lose weight on their own. Remember 95% of dieters fail. (Just so you know it took me literally years to lose 30 pounds and keep it off, and yes, I actually did it by myself.)

All too many times I've had a person say, "Well I'm following the plan perfectly," yet it's very clear to me from the few pages of a food diary that the person is really not following the plan and this has to be kindly pointed out.

So how do you learn self accountability? You learn this first by knowing, really knowing specifically, what plan you are following. Many people just think they are following a plan and actually are only following it in the mind. The food diary (I suggest using ND's free Pantry) should match your plan up with what you have actually done. Are they the same? If you are attempting to lose weight by yourself and truly want results it is imperative you be brutally honest with yourself and track it by using a food diary.