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Weight Loss
Successful, permanent weight loss = a healthier, longer life.
Before we start talking about weight loss and dieting I would like to quote a statement made by David A. Sinclair and Lenny Guarente in an article Unlocking the Secrets of Longevity Genes published in Scientific American - March 2006.
The authors write about longevity and the calorie connection as follows: Restricting an animal's calorie intake is the most famous intervention to extend life span. Discovered more than 70 years ago, it is still the only one absolutely proven to work. The restricted regime typically involves reducing an individual's food consumption by 30 to 40 percent compared with what is normal for its species. Animals ranging from rats and mice to dogs and possibly primates that remain on this diet not only live longer but are far healthier during their prolonged lives. Most diseases, including cancer, diabetes and even neurodegenerative illness, are forestalled.
It would be logical to conclude, not to mention all the research that has been done on the subject, that these principles apply to humans - restricted calorie intake in combination with a healthier diet allows us to look better, stay young and healthy and live longer. What would be a better motivation to loose weight permanently?
Let's now concentrate on the main topic of our discussion: successful weight loss and dieting. Our motto is:
- You are what you feel.
- You are what you eat.
- You are what you do.
Have you ever wondered why 98% of weight loss efforts fail completely?
The answer is surprisingly simple - Most dieters go on a restrictive diet of some sort. Yet we all know that dieting is not a natural state of being. It is usually a short term program of reduced calorie intake. Sooner than later a dieter is tired of the imposed restrictions and returns to the old habits feeling a sense of deprivation, failure and disappointment.
You must have heard the phrase think positive. This is a simplified way to say that every success in life starts with a positive mental attitude. When applied to permanent weight loss two additional elements are vital to your success - healthy eating habits and regular physical activity.
Did you notice the use of phrases: healthy eating habits and regular physical activity - instead of: special diet and vigorous exercise of some kind. There is a reason for it - we are going to introduce you to a realistic, relatively effortless, and gradual weight loss program. It is a comprehensive, holistic approach guided by your subconscious mind and supported by herbal supplements. It gives permanent results to those who grasp the concept and follow the simple rules and recommendations.
We will guide you through a successful transition from "pretty substantial" to slim and pretty! Just read on, it will be brief but informative.
This weight loss approach consists of three key elements:
- Mental attitude attained at subconscious level
- Healthy diet, fewer calories
- Regular physical activity.
1. Your mental attitude:
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Think and feel like a winner. See beauty in all things.
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The most powerful tool that you have is you subconscious mind. Once you realize and accept this fact your goal will be to achieve complete harmony between your rational mind and your innermost feelings. Stuart Wilde in his book Affirmations said: You may consciously feel that you are a very positive person, but from deep within you do not project the same strength, and so you constantly find that life does not seem to go the way you want it to. To resolve it you have to look carefully at what it is that the inner you actually believes.
There are several elements that will help you achieve the desired state of being at your deepest, subconscious level:
- Reprogram your mind - identify and gradually displace your inner weakness concentrating on your strengths.Imagine yourself surrounded by positive energy, circumstances and people. Train your subconscious mind to believe that anything you want will happen.
- Create and maintain a positive self image - visualize yourself as a person emanating inner beauty and strength. You are slim and healthy. The food you eat is wholesome, nourishing and balancing.
- Every person's life has a purpose - do you know what yours is?
- Adopt a positive, loving attitude towards people and the realities of life
- Learn to cope with stress and relax - stress usually leads to binge eating, which is your mind's subconscious reaction to adverse life circumstances
- Strive to have a balanced life
- Set realistic goals - start with setting small goals, make changes you can live with, learn from past mistakes, be flexible, and, if necessary, adjust your goals according to new circumstances.
- Be persistent - do not allow your inner strength to be weakened by negative thoughts or adverse circumstances. Both are only temporary. Keep reinforcing your positive state of mind. Avoid distractions.
How does it all relate to weight loss?
The positive mental attitude will give you the desire and the strength necessary to permanently change your lifestyle and consequently, your eating habits. You will no longer be tempted to follow a restricting diet plan dictated by your rational mind. You will know that this solution is only temporary.
Instead you will gradually change your diet and start eating less. You will naturally gravitate towards healthier and more nutritious food. You will appreciate the beauty of nature and spend more time engaged in physical activity like walking, biking or swimming. And finally you will feel in control of your life. This gradual change will become a permanent way of life when guided by the deep desire of your heart.
There might be obstacles along the way - initially your will might not be as strong as it should be to pursue the new way of life. Do not give up - nature created not only the food that will nourish you. It also gave us plants that help us feel better and be healthier.
For dieters there is Hoodia Gordonii- a botanical that will help you eat less without making you feel hungry all the time. For those who eat because they are under stress - there is Relora - a synergistic blend of plant extracts that helps you feel relaxed without any desire to indulge in too much comfort food. Chromium in turn will help you control cravings for sweets and carbohydrates.
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Life is good. I am successful in everything I undertake.
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2. Optimum diet for permanent weight loss:
Rigorous dieting can help us loose weight in the short term, but it cannot become a lifestyle. Quick-weight-loss diets usually overemphasize one particular food or type of food. If you are able to stay on such a diet for more than a few weeks, you may develop nutritional deficiencies, because no one type of food has all the nutrients you need for good health. Moreover these diets are monotonous and boring. It's almost impossible to stay on them for long periods. They violate two basic principles of good nutrition; eating a balanced diet that includes a variety of foods and making eating enjoyable (dieting seldom is).
Below you will find general guidelines for a healthy weight loss diet followed by specific food group descriptions and suggestions. Enjoy the read.
- Eat less - reduce the size of your meals and gradually replace unhealthy food with a nourishing, balanced diet - go for quality, not the quantity of food.
- Drink a lot - drinking lots of water keeps you from snacking between meals. Water is essential for proper digestion and metabolism; it carries nutrients and oxygen to the cells, regulates body temperature, lubricates your joints and helps eliminate toxins from the body. Most doctors recommend 8 to 10 glasses of water per day.
- Eat a variety of foods from all food groups - reduce fat, eliminate saturated fat, limit protein intake to 30-40 g/day, eat complex carbohydrates, eliminate simple carbohydrates. Cravings for sweets can be satisfied with fresh fruit.
- Eliminate processed food - make as many meals as you can yourself from fresh, natural, minimally processed ingredients.
- Eat only when you are hungry, avoid snacking. Do eat breakfast.
Balanced diet for a healthy weight loss - guidelines:
Fats:
- reduce total amount of fat.
- eliminate saturated and polyunsaturated fats from your diet.
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Bad Fats
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Good fats
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Saturated fats - general rule - saturated fats are those that are solid at room temperature: all animal fats, coconut oil, and oil of palm kernel.
Food high in saturated fats: beef, lamb, pork, unskinned chicken, duck, whole milk, cheese, butter, cream, processed foods made with saturated oil.
Avoid unnatural sources of saturated fat like margarine, solid vegetable shortening and processed foods made with these fats. These fats pose both: serious cardiovascular and cancer risk.
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Monounsaturated fats - by far the best fats: vegetable oils like: olive, peanut, canola, plus avocado and nuts.
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Polyunsaturated fats - corn, sesame, sunflower, and safflower oils - are a much better alternative to saturated fats; however they are very unstable and tend to react with oxygen. When heated, polyunsaturated fats form trans fatty acids - toxic compounds that can cause cancer, inflammation or other degenerative changes in cells. Trans fatty acids are formed during the manufacture of processed food.
Use these fats in small quantities; do not heat them to high temperatures.
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Omega-3 fatty acids - they seem to have remarkable health protective properties and can be found in salmon, herring, sardines, mackerel and other fish.
Some doctors recommend fish oil supplements - these however can be contaminated with heavy metals and other toxins.
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Tip: When buying cooking oil - select the cold, expeller pressed variety.
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Protein:
- eat less protein - on average our bodies need 25 to 30 g of protein daily.
- replace animal protein with fish, beans and grains.
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Eat less
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Eat more
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Protein from animal foods - meat, poultry, milk.
In general protein is more difficult to digest and metabolize than carbohydrates. It is therefore a less efficient source of energy for the body (more work - less energy). Liver and kidney work much harder to eliminate toxic build-up form too much protein consumption. In addition animal sources of dietary protein, with the exception of fish, contain saturated fat.
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Protein from non-animal sources - whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, fermented soy (tofu).
Plus: fish, yogurt, fruit: bananas, apricots, avocado, cherries, figs.
The following food combinations provide a complete protein: beans and/or rice with any of the following: corn, wheat, seeds, nuts.
Note: soybean products and peanuts contain enzyme inhibitors and should be consumed in moderation. The best form of soy is tofu.
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Carbohydrates:
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Avoid
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Eat more
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Refined carbohydrates - sugar, white starch.
Excessive sugar intake weakens the pancreas and can lead to hypoglycemia
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Complex carbohydrates - fresh fruits and vegetables, beans and whole grains.
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Fiber:
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Fiber is good for you. It appears to reduce the risk of developing various conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, diverticular disease, and constipation.
The minimum recommended amounts are as follows: 20-35 grams per day for adults. For children over age 2, the recommended intake is the child's age + 5 grams.
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Insoluble fiber - wheat bran, whole grains, barley, brown rice, most vegetables - regulates bowel function.
Soluble fiber - oat bran, oat meal, nuts, seeds, legumes, most fruit - helps eliminate cholesterol.
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Did you know that: protein and complex carbohydrates are about equal in calories?
They contain approximately 1/3 the calories found in fat and sugar.
3. Physical activity:
Enough has been said about the importance of regular physical activity for all of us, not only those who try to loose weight. Weight loss of fat, not muscle - a healthy and active lifestyle - not short term dieting - have been found to lower health risks and medical problems in 90 percent of overweight individuals.
You can successfully introduce exercise into your daily routine if you follow these simple rules:
- Be more physically active in your daily life. Walk whenever you can. Park farther away from the door and take the stairs instead of the elevator.
- Reorganize your social life so that it is not always centered around food - take your friend for a walk instead of meeting him/her for a meal.
- Introduce exercise into your weekly routine. Choose the activity that you enjoy. Aim for 30 to 60 minutes, 4 to 6 times per week. Many people start successfully with walking around the block.
- Make exercising enjoyable. Find activities that you can do with your family or a friend, listen to music, vary the type of exercise you do.
Do you know the difference between aerobic and anaerobic activity?
Aerobic activity is long in duration and low in intensity.
Aerobic activities include: brisk walking, biking, jogging, swimming, aerobic classes and cross-country skiing.
Anaerobic activity, on the other hand is short in duration and high in intensity.
Anaerobic activities include: racquetball, downhill skiing, weight lifting, sprinting, softball, soccer and football.
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