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The Basics of Weight Loss

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basics of weight lossCertain things never change and how to effectively lose weight and keep it off is one of those areas of life. Here are the basics of weight loss that can work for almost anyone*.

Eat Real Food

If you can do nothing else but eat real food, you are more likely to begin to lose weight and see your health improve. The simplest rule of thumb about dieting is if it has been packaged, processed, sealed, doused with chemicals or otherwise prepared by a machine – don’t eat it/avoid it. If you don’t have time to cook every day, find time to cook once a week and prepare your meals in advance.  If you can’t eat the most real, natural foods…eat the best quality food that is available to you.  Read the labels to know what is in your food. Check out our Clean Foods List and get started today!

Don’t Starve

Restricting calories and starvation diets are two very different things. Don’t’ starve yourself because not only is it unhealthy, it’s a great way to gain weight. Surprised? The body has a self–preservation setting to prevent starvation that will cause it to hoard fat and make fat from whatever it gets if it is not getting nutrition on a regular basis. Starving can also slow down your metabolism.

No Fad Diets

Anything that promises you huge weight loss in a week is not the way to lose weight. You may drop more than 1 pound per week, but it will come flying back on (plus some) because losing more than a pound not only puts your body and mind into survival mode, but it means you aren’t creating a lifestyle change that will support keeping it off.  If you can’t see doing the diet as a lifestyle for the long term, you run the risk of gaining all the weight you lose right back.

Allow for Cheating

Cheating happens for a number of reasons but mostly because we all happen to live in real life. Don’t beat yourself up about it, but get back to your weight loss plan as soon as you can. You can cheat the cheating by pre-planning how you will do it. If the Donut shop is your downfall, pick the donuts you can cheat with. It can be surprisingly effective to give yourself permission to cheat with rules as a way to stay on your diet better.  Also, don’t do cheat days and cheat the whole day.  Try cheat meals twice a month or cheat snacks once in a while.

Count Calories and Read Food Labels

Read the labels on everything you eat and drink. Make sure you are aware of the calories you consume and what ingredients are making up those calories. One thing to pay very close attention to is the amount of servings per container. A product that may advertise that it only has 100 calories may have 4 servings included. If you drink or eat the whole thing, that is 400 calories. It pays to spend some time on the Internet looking up the local restaurants you go to, including the quick cheat stops, to find out the calorie content of their menu items. We have no excuse because we can look up calories and menus on our cell phones in an instant. More info on counting calories and how much food you should eat.

Nov Challenge 2013 Day 8 – Tips for Week 2

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It is day 8 of our Holiday Slim Down Challenge for November.  Don’t forget to check in on our online community and Facebook page to let us know how you are doing.  I thought I’d provide some helpful tips to keep you going for week 2 of the challenge.

  1. Make sure that you take advantage of the free 4 week meal plans (with recipes and shopping lists) available on our blog.
  2. Drink lots of water between meals.  It will help you to feel full.
  3. If you crave chocolate, you could need more magnesium in your diet, especially during menstruation.  Consider eating more fruits, nuts or taking a supplement.
  4. Craving fried foods?  You might need more healthy fats and/or calcium.  Try to get more calcium from things like low fat cheese, dark veggies and greek yogurt.  Also, consider an omega 3 oil supplement and eating more fish.
  5. Throw it out!! As much as you can (I know it can be hard with kids), throw out every food that you know you should NOT be eating.  Only you truly know what is on that list.  Be REAL with yourself.  Once you’ve thrown out the bad stuff…commit yourself to not buying it again.
  6. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store for at least 70% of what you buy.  You’ll find more fresh foods and less processed foods (some of that food on the shelves is there for months).
  7. Drink green smoothies instead of commercial juice and soda.  They are a great source of fiber and vitamins.
  8. Don’t eat when you are sad, depressed, mad, or bored.  Emotional eating is the source of so many unwanted calories.  Don’t medicate your emotions with food.

These tips are just simple suggestions, but if you put them to good use they can really help you reach your goals.

Also, Check out our Veterans Day Sale: Get 20% off Everything in our store thru Nov 12th. Visit blackweightlosssuccess.spreadshirt.com/. Use the Coupon Code at Checkout: EARLY20

november 2013 weight loss challenge

 

Weight Loss on a Budget Tip #22: Skip Diet Foods, Drinks & Pre-packed “Healthy” Snacks

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diet foods diet drinks pre-packagedIt’s day 22 of our October Challenge and we are focused on how we can save some money while losing the weight at the same time.  Today’s Weight Loss on a Budget Tip: #22 – Skip Diet Foods and Pre-packed “Healthy” Snacks.

That’s right!  I’m talking about snack packs, frozen diet meals and powdered diet drinks.  You just don’t need them to lose weight.  Focus on eating REAL, unprocessed foods and drinking lots of water.

Diet Snack Packs – You save money by buying in larger quantities and breaking the food down.  You can repackage your own snacks that you buy in bulk.  Weight or divide out the food in small, low calorie portions and put it in sandwich bags.  It’s all about portion control.  You ALSO should not be fooled into thinking that just because you ate 3 100 calorie packages that it wasn’t as bad, because they are diet portions. 🙂  Most people don’t just have one portion of diet products, they have 2 or 3.

Diet Drinks – When it comes to diet drinks, sometimes the extreme sweetness just continues to keep your sweet tooth alive, super charging it.  You never divorce yourself from the sugar rush with these drinks, thus your cravings continue to rage on.  Drink more water and save your money.  Drink tea with a little natural sweetener like honey or agave when your willpower is low.

Frozen Diet Meals – Do you research and really consider how much money you’re spending on frozen diet meals.  Could you avoid things like sodium and preservatives by not eating those foods?  How much money would you save if you made your own meals and ate leftovers as well?  Are the foods too high in calories, hidden sugars or fats?

Other Diet Foods – If the diet products are being sold at a premium, avoid them.  There are cheaper options.  You don’t have to buy something because it’s labelled low-fat or diet. Buy the most health food you can afford.  That should be your goal.  Don’t let the marketing tactics suck you in.

 

 

Weight Loss on a Budget Tip #16: Stop Drinking Soda and Sweet Drinks

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Ladies, one of the ways that many weight loss plans get us to lose weight is by telling us to avoid a whole food group.  Sometimes this advice is counterproductive and you don’t get the nutrients, vitamins, fiber or protein you need because you have cut something out that the body needs.  However, with today’s tip, I’m sure  you can cut these 2 things out and you won’t miss out on vital nutrients.  In addition, you will be able to save some money.

Weight Loss on a Budget Tip #16: Stop Drinking Soda and Sweet Drinks

That’s right!  If you haven’t already stopped drinking soda and sweetened drinks, there are so many reasons why you should.

  • The sugar and caffeine content is the major reason to stop drinking it in terms of weight loss.
  • If you are drinking diet soda, you may feel like it’s harmless but the affects of faux sugars are debated.  Some have connected sweeteners with nerve damage and other potential health risks.
  • Sugary Drinks are one of the major ways that people take in unnecessary calories.  Don’t drink your calories.

For the purposes of our October Challenge, I want you to consider leaving soda of all kinds and sugar filled drinks alone.  Try it for the rest of this month and see if it makes a difference.  Save your money.  Save calories.  It’s a win win.

You don’t need these drinks in terms of your daily nutrition.  Drink more water.  Drink tea.  Have a green smoothie. Make some fresh juice.  Your kidneys and your waistline will thank you.

soda sweet drinks

 

Frema lost 45 pounds

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Weight loss success story of the day:  Frema has worked hard since June to lose 45 pounds.  She used clean eating and regular exercise to lose the weight.  She says that she is focused on being healthy and eating right…not losing weight.  Here is what she shared with us:

“I’ve been overweight my whole life. I have never been skinny.  All through high school I struggled with being one of the biggest girls at school.  My senior year I weighed 300 lbs. I decided to do something about it and ended up losing 60 pounds. However, when I came to college I gained all but 20 pounds back. So, on June 2nd of this year I decided to get back into shape and get to my goal weight of 180-160lbs.”

Frema weight loss photos

What was your motivation? 

“At first it was being the director of my school’s fashion show, but then it became about me as well as something to fulfill me spiritually. Being an inspiration to others sometimes will help me on my lazy days. I know so many people are watching and I try my best (in my means) to be a good role model for them.”

How did you change your eating habits?

“At first I started out with a low carb atkins style diet, which was okay but wasn’t always healthy (basically fried chicken, chicken nuggets and ribs were okay lol). After I got into the habit of going to the gym almost every day, I didn’t want to lose all the hard work that I had been doing by eating badly.  Also, I wanted to maximize my results at the gym. So, for the last three months I have just been eating clean, I don’t eat processed foods or drink sodas. If it’s in a can or box and I eat it, it probably only has three ingredients. I eat a lot of vegetables and drink a lot of water.  It just makes me feel a lot better eating this way.”

What did your workout routines look like? 

“I exercise 6 times a week, mostly weight lifting with 20 minutes of cardio.”

What was your starting weight?

“I started June 2nd of this year at 280 pounds.”

What is your current weight?

“I weigh 235 pounds”

How long did your transformation take?

“About 4, coming up on 5 months!!!”

What advice to you have for others who want to lose weight? 

“Eat clean. Tt is so much better than counting calories. Once clean food becomes your regular diet, then you are fine to eat the occasional slice of pizza or ice cream and not worry about gaining weight. I cheat all the time but I cheat healthy. I’ll make whole wheat desserts or frozen greek yogurt and sometimes even use sugar. Losing weight shouldn’t be the goal. Eating to fuel and nourish your body should! Working out, as well. Once you get out of the mind frame of “weight loss”, the scale doesn’t bother you. The hindered results don’t bother you. The accidental bench doesn’t send you into despair because you know that youre doing right by your body. Treat your body right and it will thank you in so many ways! I have plenty other tips on my instagram @fremasfitnessforum

Here is a video of her during her journey:

Weight Loss on a Budget Tip #6: Drink Water Instead of Other Drinks

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The October Challenge is going strong and Ladies are writing in to report that they are finding a myriad of ways to make weight loss more affordable.  Here is my tip for Day 6: Drink Water Instead of Other Drinks.

hydrationThis tip is a no brainer.  Think about all the money you could save on a daily basis buy making water the primary (if not only) thing you drink.

Soda, bottled juice, sweet tea, diet drinks, coffee drinks and other commercial beverages can add calories to your diet that you don’t need on your weight loss journey, but they also cost money.  When you go out to eat, water is free (for the most part).  Choosing water can save calories and pounds for those who have been drinking their calories.

You can get filtered water from…

  • your refridgerator door
  • a filtered pitcher, like Brita or Pur
  • a faucet filer, like Pur
  • a personal water bottle with filter that you can carry around with you
  • natural, alkaline filter machines

…Or you can drink good old fashioned tap water.  If you don’t like those options…you can always buy bottled water.  It’s usually less expensive than the soda, diet drinks or other beverages that you may be drinking.

Drinking more water is key to weight loss and being hydrated can affect your health in many ways including the proper function of your metabolism.

The Importance of Hydration

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hydrationProper hydration is one of the most important aspects of healthy living. Just look at what happens when you water a plant. It perks up and seems to spread itself towards the Sun. Nearly all the life on this planet exists only because of water. Human beings can survive for weeks without food, but only three days without water. While there are parts of the world where people do not have access to clean drinking water, many of us are blessed to have water literally on tap that only needs to be filtered to make it safe to drink. It’s such a blessing, and yet many people in the West are chronically dehydrated.

All our organs use water for nourishment and lubrication. Blood, lymph and most other bodily fluids are based on water. Dehydration can cause headaches, nausea, vision problems, muscle cramping, urinary tract infections, high cholesterol, and fatigue. Severe or chronic dehydration can lead to vomiting, muscle spasm, and failure of the liver and kidneys before it finally kills us.  Hydration also affects our metabolism and thus our ability to lose weight.

Hydration means more than gulping water occasionally. It is a long-term process that requires receiving plenty of water every day. To be truly hydrated, electrolytes are also necessary. Electrolytes are the conduits of the electrical impulses that stimulate activities like muscle contractions and nerve reactions. In a body that is sufficiently hydrated, the kidneys maintain the proper electrolyte concentrations through any level of heat or physical activity. If the hydration or electrolyte levels get too low, it becomes much more challenging for the kidneys to maintain homeostasis. Electrolyte balance is supported by adding fresh lemon or lime juice, a dash of Celtic sea salt, or a trace minerals concentrate to your water. Potassium broth and fresh (not canned) young coconut water help, as well.

Hydration is vital everyday, but especially so when one is detoxifying. The toxins that are released into the bloodstream need to be flushed out. The colon needs to be hydrated for proper elimination. Basically all of the cleansing and circulating systems of the body become more sluggish when one is dehydrated. Trying to detoxify a sluggish body can be counter-effective or dangerous. Many of the unpleasant side effects and dangers of cleansing can be mitigated by adequate hydration. Drinking plenty of water also helps stave off hunger pains if you are eating less food than the amount to which you are accustomed.

It is important to drink pure water. Most tap water, and even some bottled water, is contaminated with countless chemical additives, industrial by-products, and pharmaceutical residue. Some of the most dangerous are arsenic, mercury, pesticides, lead, aluminum, fluoride, chlorine, prescription drugs, and even radiation in some areas. Purchasing bottled water is not advised. Legally, only 70 percent of a bottle of water needs to come from a “spring” or other pure source, and the remaining 30 percent could be tap water. Chemicals from the plastic bottle can leach into the water and contaminate it. And bottling and shipping water takes a high toll on the Earth’s resources and creates more waste. A high-quality filter is recommended, and will save you money over bottled water in the long run. The most effective are two-chamber gravity models such as those manufactured by the Berkey Company, though other carbon filtration models will work, too.

A healthy person who is not cleansing or detoxing should consume one half of his or her body weight (in pounds) in ounces of water each day. So for a 180 pound person, that would be 90 ounces. When one is detoxing, usually even more water (or liquid in the form of vegetable juices and herbal tea) is required to support the cleansing process. Be sure that most of the water you drink has some form of bio-available electrolyte to support hydration as well as flushing (I find that lemon is the simplest choice for me). One way to tell if you are properly hydrated is to check your urine. If it is a very pale yellow or nearly clear, you are most likely sufficiently hydrated. If it is dark or bright yellow, then you need to drink more water.  Sorry to be so graphic, but it’s the truth (however if you have any health issues…they can affect urine color as well).

It is best to drink all of your day’s water before 7p.m. whenever possible. The kidneys go into recharge mode at that time, and will function more optimally when you are not drinking a whole lot of fluids between 7 and 10p.m. The best time to drink copious amounts of water is first thing in the morning. Tip: Drinking one or two quarts of warm water with lemon and pinch of cayenne is a great jumpstart for your day.

5 Simple Ways to Help Your Body Release the Weight

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5 simple ways to lose weightWith all the fad diets out there, weight loss seems like a complicated formula that requires multiple factors in order to be efficient. In reality, weight loss is simple since it occurs when less calories are consumed than taken in causing a calorie deficit.  Sure there are other factors like body mass, illness, overall health, lack of exercise, etc…but what you eat and how many of those calories your body uses is a key factor to weight loss.  Though this formula seems straightforward, many individuals still face a challenge when trying to try those pesky pounds. Here are 5 simple habits a person can adopt into their lifestyle in order to help in their journey to losing weight.

Drink More Water

A body is made up of mostly water; therefore it is essential to ensure a person stays hydrated. Dehydration can result in fatigue, nausea and a person mistaking their thirst for hunger. A wonderful habit to form is to start every morning with a glass of water, to restore hydration after a long sleep. A person should drink water throughout the day, and keep a bottle of water with them, especially when working out.  The body will use fluids to help flush out toxins and regular body functions.  You also will be less likely to make the mistake of eating when your body is telling you it wants food and giving what may feel like hunger pains or food cravings.

Consume Less Processed Food

Processed food is not exactly food, but more of a science experiment that resulted in something that is convenient and tasty. Looking at a processed food’s label, will have an individual scratching their head when trying to understand what all the ingredients are, and why they are in their food. Most of the ingredients have names that are unpronounceable and are purely chemicals. Since processed food is not quite real food, after consuming, an individual is left quickly feeling hungry again, so they end up consuming more.  Eating nutrient rich real food will help you stay away from this dilemma.A great habit is to swap out processed food for fruits, whole grains and vegetables, in order to consume the proper nutrients and feel satisfied. Instead of relying on convenient snacks from the vending machine, one should pack their own snacks. For example, almonds are a wonderful snack to pack since they are packed with protein and curb hunger.

Exercise Regularly

Exercise is vital in not only in helping a person achieve their weight loss goals, but also for their entire well-being. A person should try to get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. This is an easy habit to form especially if the exercise is something fun and different. Though a gym is convenient, exercise does not need to always be performed on machines in order to be efficient. A person should do something they enjoy, such as a bike ride, a walk during your lunch break or going for a hike. Exercise is necessary for both the body and the mind, so it should be a fun experience, not something to dread daily.

Try New Healthy Recipes

There is a wide variety of recipes to try, so a person should not feel obligated to eat boiled chicken and spinach every night. Healthy food is delicious, and trying new recipes will also bring excitement to the preparation and cooking experience. There are plenty of resources for finding new recipes, from the Internet to a variety of cookbooks.  Do a google search for some of your favorites and find healthy versions of some of the high calorie foods you love.

Write It Down – Keep Track of Your Eating Habits

Weight loss is a uncomplicated formula, energy out must be more than energy in. A top reason this formula appears not to work is an individual will consume more calories than they thought. Most serving sizes are quite a bit smaller then people assume, leading them to eat more than thought they did. A key weight loss habit is for a person to write down everything they ate that day, and include serving sizes. A person should invest in a food scale, in order to properly measure the correct serving size of the food item.