Are you stuck in a plateau? Have you found yourself in the gain/lose plane where you gain a little and loose a little every day with no net lose? Welcome to the frustrating plateau experience!
This is actually a totally natural condition - it happens when you get to a spot when you are burning about the same number of calories that are you consuming. Even though this is totally frustrating for those of us dieting, there are some easy "fixes" to get you back on track.
In a word, you need to "shake things up". Change something - get your body out of the "rut" it put itself in. One way is simply adding Accelerate to your daily plan. Accelerate is formulated to boost your metabolism - in a totally natural way. Taking two before exercise gives you the added lift of increasing the energy you burn while working out (or even doing nothing!).
While we are on the topic of exercise, you should also shake up your exercise routine. Try something TOTALLY different - get out of your comfort zone. This is different for EVERYONE - so give it some though about what you can do that will be disruptive to your routine that will get "your fat burning furnace" fired up.
But probably the best way to get through a plateau is do another 8 day plan. The 8 day gets your metabolism totally ignited and is the sure way to step up the engine.
And just so you know, this isn't just "random" advice - I am down 83 lbs since 11/27/12. I have seen my share of plateau's and this advice is what is definitely working for me!
Lastly - I am publishing a monthly newsletter that outlines what I am doing, the recipes I am eating, and more. If you would like to get on the list, send me an email!
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Monday, June 3, 2013
Something to never do...
A "friend of a friend" began telling me about this new diet she is on. She had lost ~20 pounds in a month. She was extolling the benefits: reduced cravings and balanced hormones! It sounded great!
Like any good story - here is the rest of it: the diet itself is called the HCG diet. It did INDEED help my friend drop 20 lbs, reduce her cravings and she thinks balanced her hormones for about 6 weeks. At about that time, she started experiencing an irregular heartbeat. She stayed on the diet another 30 days and started noticing her hair was thinning markedly. At about 3 months on the plan, she started gaining weight - at an alarming rate. Her net results: she gained 40 lbs, suffered hair loss, and is worried about her continued irregular heart beat.
What is the HCG diet?
This diet was fairly popular in the 1950’s until it became clear that there was insufficient evidence to support using HCG for fatloss. As with most fad diets, the HCG Diet has resurfaced and makes some pretty outlandish claims - from rapid fat loss to crave busting. I was at the mall this weekend and saw an exhibitor selling this stuff claiming that the diet will “reset your metabolism”, change “abnormal eating patterns” and result with a “loss of 1-2 pounds per day.”
HCG is a hormone produced in women by the placenta during pregnancy. HCG is sold as a prescription drug approved by the Food & Drug Administration for various medical conditions including the treatment of female infertility (but not weight-loss). The diet requires a daily injection of this hormone along with a scary obligation to eat a very low calorie diet of 500 calories a day! There are also pill forms of a synthetic HCG hormone that can even be bought over the counter!
Why Do People Lose So Fast?
In short, people are actually losing twenty pounds and more per month because they are starving themselves! If you stop eating, you will likely drop weight quickly no matter what you are injecting into your body.
It’s insane really… it will cost you hundreds of dollars a month and the real secret to this diet is… starvation. You don’t have to pay for that… you can starve yourself free of charge. =) (Which I don’t recommend, unless you want to do serious, long-term damage to your metabolism.)
The HCG label actually states, there “is no substantial evidence that it increases weight-loss beyond that resulting from caloric restriction, that it causes a more attractive or ‘normal’ distribution of fat, or that it decreases the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie-restricted diets.”
Is It Safe?
No matter your size, that level of calorie restriction is severe and does not lack consequences. These include, but are not limited to, gallstone formation, irregular heartbeat, vitamin & mineral deficiency and electrolyte imbalance. This means that the HCG diet is not only unhealthy, it’s hazardous.
Keep in mind that following this diet will give you an increased risk of headaches, blood clots, restlessness and depression. In addition, the HCG can give you pregnancy-like symptoms, such as water retention, breast tenderness and swelling. And finally, HCG can also cause a condition called OHSS, or ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, which is potentially life-threatening.
My suggestion? Stick to what we know works—eating natural, wholesome foods, Xyngular and exercise—and don’t be fooled, misled or tempted by fad starvation diets and short-term, DANGEROUS fixes that require you to inject hormones in your body!
For more information, check out our site or email us.
Like any good story - here is the rest of it: the diet itself is called the HCG diet. It did INDEED help my friend drop 20 lbs, reduce her cravings and she thinks balanced her hormones for about 6 weeks. At about that time, she started experiencing an irregular heartbeat. She stayed on the diet another 30 days and started noticing her hair was thinning markedly. At about 3 months on the plan, she started gaining weight - at an alarming rate. Her net results: she gained 40 lbs, suffered hair loss, and is worried about her continued irregular heart beat.
What is the HCG diet?
This diet was fairly popular in the 1950’s until it became clear that there was insufficient evidence to support using HCG for fatloss. As with most fad diets, the HCG Diet has resurfaced and makes some pretty outlandish claims - from rapid fat loss to crave busting. I was at the mall this weekend and saw an exhibitor selling this stuff claiming that the diet will “reset your metabolism”, change “abnormal eating patterns” and result with a “loss of 1-2 pounds per day.”
HCG is a hormone produced in women by the placenta during pregnancy. HCG is sold as a prescription drug approved by the Food & Drug Administration for various medical conditions including the treatment of female infertility (but not weight-loss). The diet requires a daily injection of this hormone along with a scary obligation to eat a very low calorie diet of 500 calories a day! There are also pill forms of a synthetic HCG hormone that can even be bought over the counter!
Why Do People Lose So Fast?
In short, people are actually losing twenty pounds and more per month because they are starving themselves! If you stop eating, you will likely drop weight quickly no matter what you are injecting into your body.
It’s insane really… it will cost you hundreds of dollars a month and the real secret to this diet is… starvation. You don’t have to pay for that… you can starve yourself free of charge. =) (Which I don’t recommend, unless you want to do serious, long-term damage to your metabolism.)
The HCG label actually states, there “is no substantial evidence that it increases weight-loss beyond that resulting from caloric restriction, that it causes a more attractive or ‘normal’ distribution of fat, or that it decreases the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie-restricted diets.”
Is It Safe?
No matter your size, that level of calorie restriction is severe and does not lack consequences. These include, but are not limited to, gallstone formation, irregular heartbeat, vitamin & mineral deficiency and electrolyte imbalance. This means that the HCG diet is not only unhealthy, it’s hazardous.
Keep in mind that following this diet will give you an increased risk of headaches, blood clots, restlessness and depression. In addition, the HCG can give you pregnancy-like symptoms, such as water retention, breast tenderness and swelling. And finally, HCG can also cause a condition called OHSS, or ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, which is potentially life-threatening.
My suggestion? Stick to what we know works—eating natural, wholesome foods, Xyngular and exercise—and don’t be fooled, misled or tempted by fad starvation diets and short-term, DANGEROUS fixes that require you to inject hormones in your body!
For more information, check out our site or email us.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Staying on track when traveling
My day job requires me to travel a bit. I have been "on the road" for the past 5 days and won't be sleeping in my own bed for another 5 days. Uggh - 10 days of travel. It is extremely easy to let your program slip when you are traveling. Here are some of the things I do to help keep me on track.
Rule 1: Stay hydrated! Hopefully you are already drinking 1/2 your body weight (in ounces) of water a day (up to 120 ounces). When you are traveling, it is easy to slip on the water intake. Thankfully, there are usually a lot of places where you can purchase bottled water. I tend to buy the 1 liter size so that I am reminded to "get the water in me".
Rule 2: Plan ahead and carry some quick/easy snacks. For me, I always have some almonds handy. They work great as a snack, travel extremely well, and can be grabbed when you need them.
Rule 3: Be smart about the meals you order. When every meal comes from a restaurant, ask about how different things are prepared. Many restaurant's will make available the nutritional information about items on their menu. If you are already eating clean - be VERY wary of extra sodium! I had a nice salmon dish at a TGIF that had 1500 mg of sodium in the meal!
Rule 4: Carve our time for your exercise plan. You are almost certainly going to have to be flexible and modify your exercise routine - but just do it.
What are your tips?
Friday, April 5, 2013
Great scale days..
This is one of those "just have to share" posts. While most of my posts are more about sharing what I am learning along my weight loss journey - this one is a more of a "toot my own horn" kind of post.
I have had 3 consecutive days of "great scale days". In my definition, a great scale day is when one of the following are true:
I have had 3 consecutive days of "great scale days". In my definition, a great scale day is when one of the following are true:
- Zero change in weight from previous day (e.g. weight didn't bounce up a little from prior days reading)
- A loss in weight from previous day
For me - I have lost ~1 lb each of the last 3 days! WOOT! Over the past 18.5 weeks, I have averaged loosing OVER 3.5 lbs per week!
Ok - back to my day job.... :)
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Finding ways to stay in motion
Everyone understands that exercise is critical for health (I hope). Based on some feedback I got in my last post, it seems that not everyone is able (for a bunch of reasons) to exercise. Not everyone has the means to join a gym and not everyone can have a home gym like this either Body-Solid Sportsman Gym - BFMG20 (Google Affiliate Ad).
The key thing is to find ways to stay in motion. It is AMAZING how many calories you burn just performing simple tasks. If you are like me and a little anal (and need to measure everything), you might use a calorie burning app or use a web site that allows you to compute calories burned.
For example, I spent a couple of hours working on my car last night - and burned over 500 calories in the process! Knowing that took a LOT of the pain out of the skinned up knuckles that I earned for my trouble!
Even those that are in the "couch potato" class can find ways to get moving. Something as simple as just getting up during the TV commercials (better to walk around during the commercial) - will burn a LOT of calories. If you want to measure that activity, think about getting a fitness tracker like the one below:
The punch line of all of this - just add some activity to your everyday. I work at a desk all day. I am now getting up every 20 minutes or so - for nothing more than to walk around my desk. Just that activity is burning about 200 calories a DAY more than I would by just sitting at my desk. Since it takes burning 3500 calories to get a pound of fat - you can see where even little bits of activity add up to a lot in a hurry.
The key thing is to find ways to stay in motion. It is AMAZING how many calories you burn just performing simple tasks. If you are like me and a little anal (and need to measure everything), you might use a calorie burning app or use a web site that allows you to compute calories burned.
For example, I spent a couple of hours working on my car last night - and burned over 500 calories in the process! Knowing that took a LOT of the pain out of the skinned up knuckles that I earned for my trouble!
Even those that are in the "couch potato" class can find ways to get moving. Something as simple as just getting up during the TV commercials (better to walk around during the commercial) - will burn a LOT of calories. If you want to measure that activity, think about getting a fitness tracker like the one below:
The punch line of all of this - just add some activity to your everyday. I work at a desk all day. I am now getting up every 20 minutes or so - for nothing more than to walk around my desk. Just that activity is burning about 200 calories a DAY more than I would by just sitting at my desk. Since it takes burning 3500 calories to get a pound of fat - you can see where even little bits of activity add up to a lot in a hurry.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Core is key
I have been doing a ton of research in the area of "fastest way to get lean". It is kind of amusing (and just a little frustrating) how much material is out there on this topic. The most frustrating aspect is that there are SO many views - and it seems that every view contradicts every other view.
So - with a lot of time spent searching for a definitive answer - I thought I would put forward my own view (which is a distillation of what I have learned). Of course, this means yet another view is posted out on the internet!
That all being said - pretty much anything that gets you moving helps. Having said that - understanding what your goals are should influence what you should be doing.
For just dropping weight - nothing beats cardio. In particular - interval training. That absolutely kicks up your metabolism - and a great work out can be done in a very short period of time. The downside - you will lose muscle mass as well as fat. For many, that isn't a big deal. Think about the body type of long distance runners - that is what cardio as the primary exercise is guiding you to.
For those that want some definition - nothing beats strength training. Weightlifting - assuming you are stressing your muscles - will help you build muscles. Simple as that.
For the best of both - nothing beats strength training and focusing on core muscles (legs, mid-section and back). The idea is to perform exercises that bring in LOTS of muscle groups - the more the better.
So - with a lot of time spent searching for a definitive answer - I thought I would put forward my own view (which is a distillation of what I have learned). Of course, this means yet another view is posted out on the internet!
That all being said - pretty much anything that gets you moving helps. Having said that - understanding what your goals are should influence what you should be doing.
For just dropping weight - nothing beats cardio. In particular - interval training. That absolutely kicks up your metabolism - and a great work out can be done in a very short period of time. The downside - you will lose muscle mass as well as fat. For many, that isn't a big deal. Think about the body type of long distance runners - that is what cardio as the primary exercise is guiding you to.
For those that want some definition - nothing beats strength training. Weightlifting - assuming you are stressing your muscles - will help you build muscles. Simple as that.
For the best of both - nothing beats strength training and focusing on core muscles (legs, mid-section and back). The idea is to perform exercises that bring in LOTS of muscle groups - the more the better.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
New to excercise?
A good friend of mine summarized his feelings about exercise pretty succinctly: "Its great for someone else, anyone else, just not me." This is the same guy that sent me this cartoon:
He knows exercise is what he needs.
Here are some tips to get and stay motivated on your exercise plan:
Be realistic
People new to exercise sometimes choose goals that are too ambitious. By setting big goals, it is easy to get overwhelmed. For example, rather than setting a goal of an hour a day, perhaps commit to doing 20-30 minutes 3 times a week while you are settling into a new routine.
Keep track of your progress
There are a ton of free apps that make it easy. But you can also just write down what you do each exercise session.
Don't expect perfection
A huge pitfall is the "all or nothing" thinking. If you miss a workout, NO WORRIES! Just pickup where you left off.
Don't compare yourself to others
I used to be aware that I was NOT aware of my size. So much so, I had asked my spouse to let me know if I was bigger, smaller or the same size of random people that we would see in public. It is SO easy to get discouraged when you get to the gym and see all of these buff people doing their thing. Trust me - leave it alone. It doesn't matter.
Get support
Share your plans with a few people: spouse, close friends, family - whoever. They will certainly offer words of encouragement. You can also join online groups and will find LOTS of encouraging people there. You can also do what I am doing - start blogging about how it is going for you and the things you learn along the way. I have gotten a LOT of encouragement from TOTAL strangers! Thank you to all of you that have sent me words of encouragement or have founds some encouragement in my blog.
Find the fun in it
There are SO many activities you can choose from - try them until you find one you find fun. My mother (who would shoot me if I said her age in a public blog) has found a class that she simply loves. We talk 3-4 times a week - and every call includes a recap of her last class workout. She is having a BLAST!
Break it up
Exercise (like calories) is cumulative. That means that if you only have time for 5 minutes worth of activity, it still counts! Grab the time when you can - with confidence - that every little thing adds up!
Forget the past
Some people have never had success with things that are "athletic". No worries - you are just exercising not qualifying for the Olympics. Leave any past memories where they belong - in the past. Focus on the new you.
Make it convenient
You don't have to get to a gym to work out. If you have cable TV, chances are there are exercise channels - some even on demand. And don't forget, there is ALWAYS the brisk walk for a good filler workout. Even if the weather is crappy (it actually burns more calories if the weather is crappy and you slog through it).
If you have any tips that work for you - please share!
He knows exercise is what he needs.
Here are some tips to get and stay motivated on your exercise plan:
Be realistic
People new to exercise sometimes choose goals that are too ambitious. By setting big goals, it is easy to get overwhelmed. For example, rather than setting a goal of an hour a day, perhaps commit to doing 20-30 minutes 3 times a week while you are settling into a new routine.
Keep track of your progress
There are a ton of free apps that make it easy. But you can also just write down what you do each exercise session.
Don't expect perfection
A huge pitfall is the "all or nothing" thinking. If you miss a workout, NO WORRIES! Just pickup where you left off.
Don't compare yourself to others
I used to be aware that I was NOT aware of my size. So much so, I had asked my spouse to let me know if I was bigger, smaller or the same size of random people that we would see in public. It is SO easy to get discouraged when you get to the gym and see all of these buff people doing their thing. Trust me - leave it alone. It doesn't matter.
Get support
Share your plans with a few people: spouse, close friends, family - whoever. They will certainly offer words of encouragement. You can also join online groups and will find LOTS of encouraging people there. You can also do what I am doing - start blogging about how it is going for you and the things you learn along the way. I have gotten a LOT of encouragement from TOTAL strangers! Thank you to all of you that have sent me words of encouragement or have founds some encouragement in my blog.
Find the fun in it
There are SO many activities you can choose from - try them until you find one you find fun. My mother (who would shoot me if I said her age in a public blog) has found a class that she simply loves. We talk 3-4 times a week - and every call includes a recap of her last class workout. She is having a BLAST!
Break it up
Exercise (like calories) is cumulative. That means that if you only have time for 5 minutes worth of activity, it still counts! Grab the time when you can - with confidence - that every little thing adds up!
Forget the past
Some people have never had success with things that are "athletic". No worries - you are just exercising not qualifying for the Olympics. Leave any past memories where they belong - in the past. Focus on the new you.
Make it convenient
You don't have to get to a gym to work out. If you have cable TV, chances are there are exercise channels - some even on demand. And don't forget, there is ALWAYS the brisk walk for a good filler workout. Even if the weather is crappy (it actually burns more calories if the weather is crappy and you slog through it).
If you have any tips that work for you - please share!
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