Though restaurants often take the blame for portion distortion — the trend of serving up ever larger helpings — cookbook recipes have done some Supersizing of their own, a study says.
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It takes more than an apple a day to keep viruses at bay. These immune system-boosting foods and ingredients can keep you in fighting condition.
Comments rss TrackbackBy Tom Venuto
BurnTheFat.com
Clearly, we have an obesity problem in America and many other countries across our planet. Yet, I propose that we do not have a weight loss problem today. In case you’re confused at this apparent contradiction, consider these statistics:
According to a study from Oxford University published in the International Journal of Obesity, within 3 to 5 years, about 80 percent of all ‘weight losers’ have regained the lost weight, and often gained back a little extra.
According to research by the National Weight Control Registry, that relapse rate may be as high as 95 percent.
For comparison, relapse rates for drug, alcohol and tobacco dependency have been reported in the range of 50-90%.
This means that lots and lots of people have “successfully” lost weight. But not many have kept it off. Therefore, we don’t have a weight loss problem, we have a weight-relapse problem; we have a “not sticking with it” problem. Wouldn’t you agree?
In fact, the fall and subsequent weight-regain usually doesn’t take years. Many people have abandoned their new year’s resolutions within weeks. By the time the Super Bowl party rolls around, their diet is history!
If this is true, then shouldn’t we put more of our attention onto figuring out why you haven’t been sticking with your program, and what you should do about it?
I put together this new list (below) of the top 8 reasons why you fall off the wagon.
Rather than worrying about the minutiae of your diet plan, like whether you should be on low carb or high carb, Mediterranean or Okinawan, vegetarian or meat eater, I propose that if you simply focus on these 8 issues, you’ll start getting more lasting results.
How? By being able to stick with whichever plan you decided was best for you! After all, even if you have the best nutrition program in the world – on paper – it doesn’t do you much good if you can’t stick with it in practice!
THE 8 REASONS
1. No focus: you didn’t set goals, you didn’t put your goals in writing, and/or you didn’t stay focused on your goals daily (by reading them, affirming them, looking at a vision board, etc.)
2. No priorities: you may have set a goal, but you didn’t put it on or near the top of your priorities list. For example, your goal is six pack abs, but drinking beer and eating fast food on the weekend is higher on your priorities list than having a flat stomach.
3. No support system: you tried to go at it alone; no buddy system, training partners, family, spouse, friends, mentors or coaches to turn to for information and emotional support when the going got tough.
4. No Accountability: you didn’t keep score for your own accountability – with a progress chart, weight record, measurements, food journal, training journal, and you didn’t set up external accountability (ie, report to someone else or show your results to someone else)
5. No patience: you were only thinking short term and had unrealistic expectations. You expected 10 pounds a week or 5 pounds a week or 3 pounds a week, so the first week you lost “only” 1 or 2 pounds or hit a plateau, you gave up.
6. No planning: you winged it. You walked into the gym without having a workout in hand, on paper, you didn’t plan your workouts into your weekly schedule; you didn’t have a menu on paper, you didn’t make time (so instead you made excuses, like “I’m too busy”)
7. No balance: your diet or training program was too extreme. You went the all or nothing, “I want it now” route instead of the moderate, slow-and-steady wins the race route.
8. No personalization: your nutrition or training program was the wrong one for you. It might have worked for someone else, but it didn’t suit your schedule, personality, lifestyle, disposition or body type.
So there you have it – 8 reasons why most people fall off the wagon! Have you been making these mistakes? If so, the solutions are clear and simple: focus, prioritize, get support, be accountable, be patient, plan, balance and personalize.
Train hard and expect success,
Tom Venuto
Fat Loss Coach
BurnTheFat.com
About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a fat loss expert, lifetime natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, independent nutrition researcher, freelance writer, and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat-Burning Secrets of The World’s Best Bodybuilders & Fitness Models (e-book) which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: burnthefat.com
Comments rssBy The "Muscle Nerd", Jeff Anderson
We all know that to build muscle, you need protein, right?
And unless you’re stuffing gifted enough to stuff down 10 cans of tuna a day, chances are you’ve figured out that supplementing with protein shakes is an easy way to get in some great quality protein to build muscle.
But WHICH protein should you be taking?
With so many options, it’s hard for the "Average Joe" to see through all the marketing smoke and mirrors and determine the best choice that will fit into their diet and meet their mass-building goals.
Well, look no further…class is in session and the "Muscle Nerd" has the podium!
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YES! You Really CAN Make Your Own Powerful Supplements! How would you like to create your own powerful sports supplements right in your own home with no "special knowledge" or expensive equipment? It’s EASY…and you’ll save HUNDREDS! |
Comments rssCan carbohydrates make you fat? Are carbohydrates essential for fueling the body and having it run efficiently? Do I need to watch my intake of carbohydrates to prevent fat storage? The answer to all 3 questions is Yes!
So what does all this mean? Am I not to eat carbs or am I supposed to eat carbs? How many carbs should I eat? What types? The entire carbohydrate craze has gone from one extreme to the other and back again. It’s no wonder you may be confused, frustrated, mad or all of the above.
There is a ton of information flying around and much of it is garbage. Here are the facts about carbs and how you should use this information.
1. Your body can store all carbs as fat when the muscles and the liver are already full of glycogen. So if you continuously eat a high carbohydrate diet this can lead to increased fat storage. Also, you can store more of your carb calories as fat when you eat too many processed and refined carbs. The key is to consume moderate carbs and choose carbs that have at least 2gms of fiber per serving. This will help control insulin spikes, which leads us to number 2.
2. Eating too many carbs at one sitting without enough other nutrients to counteract its effect will cause insulin spikes, which then triggers your body’s fat storing mechanisms. This is why I suggest you eat whole grain carbs, vegetables and fruits with skin when possible because they will provide good sources of fiber to help control these insulin spikes. Also, make sure you balance your carb intake with lean protein to further counteract the effects of carbs in the body in regards to elevating your insulin levels.
3. Through a process known as de novo lipogenesis your body can directly increase fat storage by converting carbohydrates to fat. So I will reiterate why you need to eat carbs. Eat whole grain, high fiber carbs as well as lean protein to control blood sugar rise, which then controls insulin spikes and helps prevent you from storing carb calories as fat.
So now that you have the facts about carbs should you be eating them or not. To summarize you do need carbs. Your body does need carbs to function properly and maintain optimal efficiency. The body doesn’t need as many carbs as we feed it though. It also doesn’t need the refined flours and process carbs we have become accustomed to eating. As we have gotten lazier and our lives have become busier we tend to lean towards convenient foods and they are usually not the healthiest of foods.
We have consumed too much of those foods and then blamed it all on carbs as to why we are fat. Carbs are not the main culprit. They do play a part as I describe above as to how they can make you fat. I also mention how to eat carbs so that they don’t make you fat.
Click here for more quick weight loss tips and fast easy weight loss.
Jayson Hunter RD, CSCS is the author of the Carb Rotation Diet. To discover the 5 absolute truths Every Serial Dieter Who Seeks Rapid-Weight loss MUST come to grips with visit The Carb Rotation Diet.
Comments rssThe Biggest Yogi for Weight Loss: Last week on the NBC reality show The Biggest Loser, housemates explored the the effects of yoga for weight loss, and the popular realization that yoga is harder than it looks. We’re not regular viewers of the show, but the clip of show trainer Bob Harper encouraging the group to relax and have fun is inspiring. Not so coincidentally, Harper has his very own The Biggest Loser: The Workout – Weight Loss Yoga DVD featuring the cast of the show. Watch a clip of the yogis in action above. [Yoga Journal]
My Body Is My Temple: We mentioned Jewish yoga a little while back and we’re so happy we could plotz to find out it was an integral part of an annual conference called LimmudLA, in LA over the weekend. The Jewish “learning event” which brought more than 700 Jews together was punctuated by yoga and Matisyahu, the Orthodox Jewish reggae star. The objective of the conference is to break down barriers that often divide Jews of different religious affiliations. We’re pretty sure yoga and a reggae beatboxing star is substantial progress. [LA Times]
Yoga Festival in Bali: Nevermind the fatwa, next month Bali will seek a healthy boost to tourism with a week-long yoga festival (March 3-10), promoting the theme: “Yoga for Peace and Health.” Teachers are said to be trekking from all parts of the world to hold classes and speak on all topics yoga. We haven’t seen a guestlist yet, but Bali itself is probably a good enough reason to visit – that is if you aren’t expecting to chant in class, happen to have an extra $1500 burning a hole in your pocket, and can maybe fit us in your suitcase. [Jakarta Post]
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We were surprised to read Saturday that Ramdev was “joining the debate over Valentine’s Day,” mostly because we honestly weren’t aware of other countries’ outcry over the observance of Valentine’s Day, which all in all seems to be a generally harmless, albeit “hallmark” holiday for lovin’ and lovers (singles may feel differently). Nevertheless India’s yoga hero Baba Ramdev made a statement on Saturday speaking out against V-Day which echoed the conservative viewpoint that the holiday is basically a day overrun by drunken heathens. Instead of buying gifts for a partner and perhaps grabbing a drink at the pub, the day should actually be celebrated as “Marriage Day,” in remembrance of the martyr St. Valentine who “was hanged because he professed the institution of marriage against the wishes of the King.”
But the younger generation (of today) has given a different connotation to the day,” he said.
They are indulging in ‘acts’ in public which no parent would approve of, Ramdev said
The debate reaches further into the realm of female rights and the steady breaking away from strict conservative traditions – there were assaults on women drinking in bars by right-wing Hindu group Shri Rama Sena just last month – which the people of India could certainly expand on further in another forum. Although, we gather that most young people and women have been celebrating Valentine’s Day for quite a while now, and didn’t refrain from a drink at the pub this year.
UPDATE: Vandalism and Assaults on Valentine’s Day, Six Arrested [BBC]
More… young lovers “find themselves in the middle of a tug-of-war between Hindu hardliners with a mandate to protect Indian culture from Western influence and anti-moral policing groups bent on helping them keep dates on Valentine’s Day.” [Reuters]
V-Day Should Be Celebrated as “Marriage Day”: Ramdev [Indian Express]
Indians Debate Opposition to Valentine’s Day, Women Drinking [VOA News]
Comments rssContinue your new workout program with Week 6 of this 12-Week Program, from your About.com Exercise Guide
Comments rssYour body acceptance quiz results — how much do you really accept your body? You are very accepting of your body.
Comments rssA few weeks ago, I recommended that one of my clients get a heart rate monitor. She’d been struggling with weight loss and, though she was keeping…
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In one of my recent blogs, I mentioned my frustration at having a new yoga instructor who just wasn’t doing it for me.
Well, yesterday evening I dragged myself to the recreation centre for my next class with her. I really wasn’t in the mood to go as I’d been so put off the last time, but I decided to give her another try. Maybe she’d been having an “off” day – we all have them sometimes.
When I arrived at class, the first thing I noticed was that it was only half full, compared to the week before when we’d had a good turnout. Oops – not a good sign for the instructor. Where was she, by the way? While waiting for her to show up, the few of us who were there rolled out our mats, settled ourselves down and started to do some breathing exercises to cleanse our minds. I’d had a particularly stressful week, so it was good to have a few minutes to regain my equilibrium and composure.
That equilibrium was sorely tested when the instructor breezed in, threw down her mat and shattered the peace by proclaiming loudly “Hey, I’m a few minutes’ late (ten minutes, actually, but who’s counting) but you know how it is”! And that was it by way of apology.
She watched us for a couple of minutes and then said “Right, you had a few minutes to get yourselves together; now, let’s get on with it!” So, exchanging glances of trepidation, we dutifully stood up, prepared for the worst.
But she surprised us. She lowered her voice to a soothing tone and started taking us through some poses, explaining them as we went along. She also walked around the class, correcting a pose here and there. She didn’t push us but instead offered encouragement, which perked us all up. When she gave one of the women a high-five for mastering the tree pose, which the woman had been unable to do the week before, I decided then and there that the instructor had sent her “good” twin to teach us this week!
By the end of the class, we all felt relaxed and energized at the same time. I was curious to find out what had caused this sudden (and welcome) change in the instructor’s attitude, so I stayed behind to have a chat with her. I wasn’t quite sure how to start the conversation, though, so I was pleasantly surprised when she approached me with a smile and said “Big difference, huh”? She then went on to say that initially she’d felt hurt last week, feeling that we’d “ganged up” on her. But after a day or so, she started thinking about what we’d said and decided to put aside her ego and take our words as constructive criticism. I told her I was really impressed that she’d been able to do so and had really enjoyed her class this time.
As I was leaving, she called out “See you next week” – and you know, I think I will.
Tags: new yoga instructor, second chance, encouragement from teacher, egos, change of attitude
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