Essentials of weight loss

Losing weight is not hard if you properly apply these essentials of weight loss.

Wanting to lose weight is different than committing to it. Commitment is needed to drive you. To make a commitment to yourself, you need to have a compelling why. When you feel your willpower starting to slide, remind yourself of your why.

Be realistic about your expectations. Realistically, you can lose one to two pounds per week.

Don’t let you stop you. Weight loss is a mindset game. Understand your behavior and know the points when you might try to self-sabotage.

Weight loss is not a straight line. There are going to be plateaus in your journey. Approach it each time as a different problem and try something a little different, but stay on course.

Don’t forget to have fun. Be sure to do the things you enjoy while going through this process.

Not all weight loss is good. Weight lost using diet pills can be detrimental to your health.

Don’t be afraid of lifting weights for fear of putting on muscle and adding weight. Weight loss is about fat loss, not muscle loss.

There are no shortcuts. Focus on healthy living and positive lifestyle changes.

Find people who will hold you accountable and serve a support network through the process.

Forget the past. Focus on tomorrow and make positive steps forward each day.

It’s really about hormones, as they drive every action in your body. Avoid sugar, get quality sleep, and lower your stress to keep your hormones in check.

Common sense goes a long way. Reward your hard work with something else other than food.

Document your wins and use them to fuel you through the tough times.

You will not out-exercise a bad diet. Focus on food first and then exercise.

If you need assistance on your weight loss journey, you should check out Surefire Results for Weight Loss.

 

 

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Health and fitness saboteurs

Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” If this is the case, are the people you surround yourself with helping you or hurting you?

Many of us struggle with health and fitness, particularly as we get older. When this occurs, it becomes even more important to surround ourselves with people who motivate, encourage, and inspire us to continue along our health and fitness journeys.

However, you may encounter saboteurs along the way. Here are a few types of saboteurs you may find in your own circles:

1. A friend who pressures you to do something else – They may try to distract you from your workouts or encourage you to eat unhealthy foods. Peer pressure becomes an issue. You may need to spend less time with these peers.

2. Well-meaning individuals – These people may not understand why you’re doing what you’re doing and they may be concerned. Let them know you appreciate their concern, but you need to follow your own path.

3. Backstabbers – These individuals may try to derail your success because they measure themselves against other people and they simply do not want you to succeed. Recognize when someone is acting against you.

Focus on building up others as well as yourself. Create a strong foundation by joining teams and making connections. Say hello to people at the gym and surround yourself with these like-minded and motivated individuals who will help you stay focused on your health and fitness goals.

 

 

 

 

 

Avoiding toxins with Dr. Joseph Pizzorno

Dr. Joseph Pizzorno is a renowned naturopathic physician, the founder of Bastyr University, and an accomplished author. His new book, The Toxin Solution, reveals how toxins in our everyday lives create issues with our health.

Toxins are managed by the liver and kidneys, as they have filtering responsibility. However, filtering toxins out will not do much good until we slow the entrance of toxins. Many toxins are designed by scientists for physical or biological purposes and are difficult to break down. Some have half-lives that are measured in years and constantly cause damage while in the body.

Toxins are huge contributors to disease. They increase oxidative stress in the body which increases inflammation and damages our DNA. Toxins also impact the body’s hormones, enzymes, minerals, and organs. We are constantly subjecting ourselves to things that will shorten our lives.

Though there is no way to get around a toxin load, there are ways to reduce the load. One strategy involves becoming more conscious about how toxins get into our bodies and stop it from happening. Food is a primary source of chemical and metal toxins. Cleaning supplies and health and beauty aids are other sources.

The book also includes do’s and don’ts in regards to eating. Don’t eat refined foods that are conventionally grown and stored in plastic containers. Instead, eat real foods that are organically grown. Be careful not to damage foods when you cook them. Get rid of plastic containers and use glass containers instead. The closer you eat to nature, the safer you will be.

To connect with Dr. Joseph Pizzorno or to learn more about The Toxin Solution, visit www.thetoxinsolution.com.

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11 great reasons to quit

Quitting is not always the best policy, but there are some times when quitting can work to your benefit:

1. Unhealthy Habits – Strike a balance between the good and bad habits. Consider replacing bad with a healthy habit.
2. Bad Food Sources– Try to replace bad food sources with better selections. Choose organic foods or fresh, locally grown sources.  See the Toxin Solution by Joe Pizzorno.
3. Better Opportunity – Even if just temporarily, try a new fitness modality that excites you and keeps your routine fresh.
4. Illness – When you’re sick, take the opportunity to rest and recover. Stay out of the gym and avoid spreading your illness.
5. Injury – This is an indicator that something is wrong. Avoid coming back too early and risking another injury. Find other ways to maintain your fitness in the meantime.
6. Overtraining – This can cause adrenal fatigue from the stress on your body. This prevents your body from recovering. Consider taking some time off and give yourself a break.
7. Change in Priorities – Mix in a different modality to give more balance to your program and your life.
8. No Self Control – If you struggle with self-control, avoid these temptations altogether.
9. Elimination Diet – Find the foods that are giving you the most issues with digestion and overall health. Find the foods that allow your body to function at its highest capacity.
10. When You’re Full – Eat slower and be more mindful of the food you are eating. Stop when you feel ¾ of the way full and allow your body to catch up.
11. Trying to Avoid Risk – Inclement weather or extreme temperatures can add risk to your work out. Consider working out indoors in these instances.

You may only quit temporarily, but it may be just the break you need to continue along your health and fitness journey long-term.

 

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Eating for endurance with Matt Fitzgerald

Matt Fitzgerald is an avid runner, a certified sports nutritionist, and the author of a new book called The Endurance Diet. In this book, Matt shares findings from studying the training and diet habits of elite athletes.

In the book, Matt discusses the 5 core eating habits of elite athletes:

1. Eat everything – Those who eat all categories of food. The diet is good enough and not necessarily perfect.
2. Eat quality – Those whose diet is skewed toward natural, unprocessed foods.
3. Eat carb-centered – A carb-centered baseline diet, with days of high carb diets prompted by a heavy day of training.
4. Eat enough – Those who don’t count calories, but instead reconnect with built-in mechanisms for determining how much food to consume.
5. Eat individually – Those with different preferences or intolerances, and who must allow for individuality within the other four styles of eating.

Matt also talks about training essentials for endurance fitness:

1. 80/20 rule of intensity balance – Spending 80% of workouts at a low to moderate intensity and 20% at full intensity.
2. Progressive overload – Increasing capacity by continually challenging one’s self.
3. Purpose-driven workouts – Choosing certain workouts that work better than others.
4. Hard/easy rule – Distribute hard sessions evenly amongst the low to moderate ones.
5. Recovery weeks – Doing less than what you normally do. Organize training in step cycles to get the greatest results.
6. Periodization – Breaking down a training cycle into phases that focus on different fitness building objectives.
7. Down time – Aim to be as fit as possible two to three times per year. Down time is required after each peak.
8. Strength training – Improves overall performance by improving strength and conditioning.

To connect with Matt Fitzgerald or learn more about The Endurance Diet, visit www.mattfitzgerald.org.

 

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Down 65 pounds | Rick Force

Rick Force, a listener of the podcast, shares his health and fitness journey and how he was able to lose 65 pounds.

Though Rick always considered himself an active, athletic person, he always seemed to carry more weight. Within the last 10 years, he started to feel the effects of the extra weight and took action. He began exercise routines, dropped some weight, and felt pretty good. However, after experiencing injuries and taking time off, he would slide backwards into his old habits.

Things changed for Rick after he read a book called Eat Bacon, Don’t Jog. It was then that he realized the key was the food he had been eating. As a result, Rick made changes in his lifestyle. He limited his sugar and carb intake and trained his body to burn fat for energy.

A typical day of eating for Rick now includes coffee with coconut oil and a touch of cream, followed by a lunch around noon consisting of eggs, vegetables, and a protein such as chicken. He may have a snack before officiating a sports game in the evening, usually cucumber. If he’s hungry after the game, he’ll eat steam cooked green beans and sausage or chicken. His energy levels have never been higher and his food intake has never been lower.

Rick encourages others modeling this lifestyle to eat when they’re hungry. He also suggests combining long-term and short-term goals to keep yourself on track and stay focused. Plateaus will occur in your weight loss journey; just stay focused and keep working at it.

The true measure of health is that you have the ability to do what you want to do physically. Weight loss might be a part of the equation, but it’s not the complete picture of health.

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The worst part of a western diet | Gary Taubes

Gary Taubes is a well-known science writer and the author of a new book called The Case Against Sugar.

In this book, Gary examines why sugar is perhaps the worst aspect of any western diet. He explains that this is a relatively new stance, as nutrition policies from the 1970s and onward instead targeted fat content. The popular implication was that sugar was largely benign.

Conventional thinking on sugar is that it’s empty calories. It was often said that people get fat because they consume more calories than they expend. In actuality, different foods cause different hormonal responses, which can impact the storing of fat. The unique metabolism of a glucose and fructose combination can cause an endocrine response and lead to health issues.

Gary also speaks about the link between cancer and sugar. Research has shown that insulin stimulates tumor growth and metastases. Elevated blood sugar and insulin levels will fuel tumor progression and metastases. Whatever causes this insulin resistance will exacerbate existing cancer, and could possibly promote it. The best response is to prevent insulin resistance by removing the sugars and white flours from one’s diet, thus minimizing the risk of cancer.

Alzheimer’s disease is also being linked to sugar. The primary argument states that whatever causes insulin resistance will increase the likelihood of manifesting dementia of any kind.

In the end, we must weigh the risk and decide for ourselves how much sugar we consume. We must balance the desire to enjoy our lives, while also living long, healthy lives. For many of us, it may be easier to avoid sugar than to try and consume it in moderation.

To connect with Gary Taubes or to learn more about The Case Against Sugar, visit www.garytaubes.com.

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