Eating Out

Healthy Choices on Every Menu

Now, I know you can't always prepare and eat your meals at home. You can, however, make a point to always head to a restaurant prepared so you won't blow your calorie allowance for the day on an impulsive menu selection. If you're going out for a bite to eat, use this as your guide and don't let your diet dampen your enjoyment of sharing a meal with friends or family. Whether you're craving Asian, Italian, or standard American fare, there's always something healthy on the menu if you take the time to look.

• Mexican: Choose chicken, beef, or shrimp fajitas with black beans or salad on the side instead of rice; carne asada (steak with onions and peppers); shrimp diablo (this is grilled with garlic butter — ask that the cook either go easy on it or just leave it off); grilled fish tacos (with corn tortillas rather than flour); taco and tostada salads with chicken, beef, or shrimp for protein (don't eat the taco-shell bowl). Order everything à la carte. Skip the rice and ask for black beans, not refried beans.
• Chinese: Look for dishes with meats that aren't breaded and deep-fried. Also, avoid noodles, and get brown rice on the side. Try to steer clear of sweet-and-sour sauce and other sugary items. Opt for beef and broccoli dishes, shrimp and snow peas, garlic chicken, Mongolian beefsteak, or dishes that have meat and a vegetable, and ask that they be steamed, with sauces served on the side. You can also ask that the chef go easy on the cooking oil.
• Thai: Choose any satay dishes (chicken, shrimp, or beef); any protein or vegetable stir-fry; or steamed fish, chicken, or beef lettuce rolls. Avoid fatty coconut milk curries, noodles, and rice.
• American: You can order hamburgers (without bread or on a whole-grain bun), turkey dogs, meat chili, vegetable soups, kosher turkey bacon, white-meat chicken, and egg whites. A green salad is also a great option, but never with bacon, cheese, or croutons; look for salads that are full of vegetables, and ask for the dressing to be served on the side.
• Indian: Choose chicken, lamb, beef, or shrimp tikka (grilled marinated meat skewers) or chicken or beef tandoori; any vegetable dish, such as bhagan bharta (whipped eggplant), aloo gobi (marinated steamed cauliflower), or vegetable jalfrezi (mixed vegetables). Avoid curries, rice, and naan bread.
• Sushi: Stick to sashimi. Order your favorite rolls as hand rolls with no rice. You can do this with almost any roll.
• Italian: Order any chicken or fish dish, beef carpaccio, or any salad (always with the dressing on the side). Avoid heavy, creamy, or sugary sauces, and don't get pasta.
• French: Choose any steak, chicken, or fish dish, or any salad (always with the dressing on the side). Avoid rich, creamy, or sugary sauces, and don't get potatoes.
• Breakfast: Order any egg dish to be made with egg whites, if possible. Go for low-fat cottage cheese, Greek yogurt with berries, turkey bacon, or smoked salmon. Avoid waffles, pancakes, bagels, muffins, doughnuts, and other pastries.

Dealing With Dessert

That dessert menu is tempting, isn't it? If you simply must have something sweet at the end of your meal, opt for a fruit plate or an herbal tea. If you really can't resist ordering a dessert, lessen the caloric blow by splitting one with your dining companion. Remember to have all sauces and toppings served on the side — you'll thank me in the morning.

Update

I continue to see a large number of patients that are having great success with the combination of phentermine and topirimate.  So far it is going really well.  Only a small number of patients have had to stop the topirimate because of side effects.  In those cases the side effects were not serious and resolved promptly on discontinuation of the drug. 

For those of you who could not tolerate the topirimate due to side effects, there is still some good news.  Around the first of the year, I expect the release of Belviq which is another drug that can be added to phentermine to help you lose weight.  This drug is designed to make you feel full faster (it increases satiety).  Stay tuned for more updates about this drug as the year winds down. 

Feedback on Topiramate

I just wanted to take a short moment to let all of you know how the addition of Topiramate to the medication regimen of my patients is working.  So far we have had many great reports.  The common comment is that "I just don't feel like eating."  The other thing that I routinely hear is that "I don't crave carbs, they just taste bad when I eat them."  I have had numerous patients that were stuck on plateaus, or were in a rut, that have gone on Topiramate in addition to their phentermine, and are now losing weight again. 

Most of the patients who have been taking Topiramate report NO side effects.  I have had three reports of headache, one report of tiredness, and a report of itchy rash.  Two other minor items were reported but we are not sure they are related to the topirimate.  Considering that hundreds of my patients are now taking it, I would say that the rate of any side effects is very low, and that they are non-serious in nature.  Any reported side effects stopped when the drug was stopped.

All in all, I think it is working great.  I would encourage you to add Topiramate to your regimen if you need additional appetite control, carb-craving control, or just need a "jumpstart."  I hope this update is helpful to you all

Wickham

New Diet Drug Update

NEW DIET DRUG UPDATE

For those who watch the news, you may have noticed that the FDA has approved a new diet drug  in 2012. The name of the drug is Qsymia and it is manufactured by Vivus. Dr. Simonds wants to give you the “scoop” in advance. Qsymia is a combination of 2 older drugs – phentermine and topiramate. The phentermine is a drug we all know about. Read on for more.

Topiramate is the generic form of the drug Topamax. It was initially approved 15 years ago by the FDA for treatment of seizure disorder. It now is used by physicians to treat multiple disorders such as migraine headaches, depression, neuropathy, obesity, etc. There are three benefits of this drug that make it useful in the treatment of obesity.

Curbs Carb Cravings - In a majority of patients who take it, they will report a change in the taste of and desire for processed carbohydrates – sugary drinks, snacks, breads, etc. This change leads to reduced consumption of these items in the diet.  

Curtails Bing Eating - Topiramate is known to curb binge eating in many of the patients who take it. The reduction in binge eating promotes weight loss.

Decreased Calorie Consumption - Patients eat fewer calories while taking topiramate. 

Doctor Simonds has been prescribing this drug with phentermine since 2005. However, it was not available in a generic form, and the cost was prohibitive to patients, which limited its use. Now it is available in an inexpensive generic form. The Good News – At PAWL, we now carry this drug, and it can be added to your medicine regimen to help you lose weight! In other words, you can take the components of Qsymia now – even before it comes to market. It is inexpensive, and it can be used along with almost all prescription medicines with no interaction. It is a nice drug to add to your regimen if your weight loss has slowed, or if you just need a “jumpstart.” A final advantage to using this drug combination at PAWL, is that we use phentermine at its normal, effective dosages. Qsymia only has 15mg of phentermine. As most of you know, this dose is entirely too low to adequately suppress your appetite. At PAWL, we tailor the dosages of phentermine and topiramate to your specific needs to get the best result.  If you are interested in adding this drug to your regimen, let us know.

DOSING INSTRUCTIONS FOR TOPIRIMATE

Patients who take topiramate for other disorders usually take doses in the range of 400mg per day.  The dose needed to treat obesity is a much lower dose - only 100mg per day.  When this drug is first started it requires a “taper up” over the period of a few weeks.  Should you decide to add this drug to your regimen, you will receive two pill bottles. 

The First Bottle - The first bottle will have 25mg tablets.  During week number one, the patient takes one 25mg tablet before bed.  Some patients find that topiramate makes them sleepy, hence the evening dosing.  During week two, the patient takes one 25mg tablet in the morning and one in the evening.  If this produces daytime sleepiness, then the entire dose can be taken in the evening. 

The Second Bottle - At the start of week number three, the patient will switch to the second pill bottle which has 50mg tablets.  They will take one tablet twice daily.  If there is daytime sleepiness, the entire dose can be taken in the evening. This dose, is the dose the patient takes until they have reached their goal and decide to stop taking it. If the patient remains on topiramate for several months or more, they should undergo a similar taper down.  The staff can guide you at that time.

SIDE EFFECTS

Side effects of topiramate at these low doses are generally mild and in most cases non-existent.  Some people experience a sensation of tingling during the first two weeks.  It does not affect your function at all, and it goes away in 1-2 weeks.  The other side effect that is sometimes seen is mild weakness and sleepiness.  This requires taking the drug in the evening before bed time. Patients will often ask, if I have any of these side effects, is there anything I can do about it?  Yes, there is.  The side effects will resolve if you take a Tums tablet in the morning and evening and if you take 500mg of vitamin C once daily.

A very small percentage of patients will report forgetfulness (usually at much higher doses).  If this happens and it affects the patient’s normal, daily functions, the drug will have to be discontinued.  The forgetfulness immediately resolves.  There is a rare anatomic disorder of the eye that is present in the general population.  It makes these people prone to a condition called acute angle closure glaucoma.  If you had this anatomic disorder and did not know it, you could develop this version of acute glaucoma when you take topiramate.  The symptoms are sudden one sided eye pain with headache.  If this were to happen to you, you would need to go an ophthalmologist or ER promptly to have the pressure in your eye checked.  If the pressure is elevated, it can easily be treated and topiramate will have to be discontinued.  If you form kidney stones several times a year or more, this drug may make this worse, and in that scenario you should not take it.  Topiramate may make you more susceptible to heat exhaustion and heat stroke.  If you are doing strenuous activity in the heat, make sure you take frequent breaks and drink plenty of water.  Finally, if you are pregnant, or actively trying to get pregnant, you should not take this drug. 

AGAIN, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ADDING THIS DRUG TO YOUR CURRENT REGIMEN, JUST LET THE STAFF KNOW.

As I Was Saying...

As I predicted, hhe FDA has approved Qnexa - under the new name Qsymia.  See the announcement below that I recieved via Email yesterday.ASBP stands for American Society of Bariatric Physicians, of which I am a member.  Remember - you can get the generic components of this medicine right now at Physician Assisted Weight Loss.  If you need a jumpstart this is a good way to get "back on top of your diet game".

Obesity Medicine e-Weekly

News ASBP and American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) release joint statement today applauding the FDA's approval of Qsymia (aka Qnexa) ASBP is pleased to announce to you that earlier today the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved Qsymia (also known as Qnexa prior to its approval). This marks the second time this year that the agency has approved a new obesity treatment drug--not one that just helps weight loss. Read the joint ASBP-ASMBS news release as well as the FDA's official press announcement. Look forward to seeing you at the office.  What are you waiting for? All you have to lose is more weight. Doctor Simonds

New Obesity Medicine Treatment

NEW OBESITY MEDICINE UPDATE

For those who watch the news, you may have noticed that the FDA is considering a new diet drug for approval in 2012.  As of right now, it seems to be on the fast track for approval.  The name of the drug is Qnexa and it is manufactured by Vivus.  Dr. Simonds wants to give you the “scoop” in advance.  Qnexa is a combination of 2 older drugs – phentermine and topirimate.  The phentermine is a drug we all know about.  Read on for more.

Topiramate is the generic form of the drug Topamax.  It was initially approved 15 years ago by the FDA for treatment of seizure disorder.  It now is used by physicians to treat multiple disorders such as migrane headaches, depression, neuropathy, obesity, etc. 

There are two helpful side effects of this drug that make it useful in the treatment of obesity.  First, in a majority of patients who take it, they will report a change in the taste of and desire for processed carbohydrates – sugary drinks, snacks, breads, etc.  This change leads to reduced consumption of these items in the diet.  Naturally, this promotes weight loss.  Second, topiramate is known to curb binge eating in many of the patients who take it.  The reduction in binge eating also promotes weight loss.  Doctor Simonds has been prescribing this drug with phentermine since 2005.  However, it was not available in a generic form, and the cost was prohibitive to patients, which limited its use.  Now it is available in an inexpensive generic form.

The Good News – At PAWL, we now carry this drug, and it can be added to your medicine regimen to help you lose weight!  In other words, you can take the components of Qnexa  now – even before it comes to market.  It is inexpensive, and it can be used along with almost all prescription medicines with no interaction.  It is a nice drug to add to your regimen if your weight loss has slowed, or if you just need a “jumpstart.”  A final advantage to using this drug combination at PAWL, is that we use phentermine at its normal, effective dosages.  Qnexa only has 15mg of phentermine.  As most of you know, this dose is entirely too low to adequately suppress your appetite.  At PAWL, we tailor the dosages of phentermine and topiramate to your specific needs to get the best result. 

If you are interested in adding this drug to your regimen, let us know at your next follow up, or call and make an appointment today. 

Attitude

How To Improve Your Attitude

Do you have what it takes to reach your weight-loss goals? If you think it's all about diet and exercise, you're wrong.
It sounds crazy, I know. Exercise and a proper diet are crucial to all weight-loss and fitness programs. But to reach any long-term goal — especially one that requires a major lifestyle change — you need to improve your attitude too. You can have all the external support in the world, but if your self-esteem is in the toilet, you'll never have long-term success.
Having the right attitude is so important because thought is behavior. The power of the mind is total — the way you think about yourself manifests as your reality. We all know how easily negative thoughts can lead to lack of confidence, hopelessness, and depression. You've heard about self-fulfilling prophecy, right? Well, if you tell yourself that you'll always be fat or you'll never find happiness, chances are you'll end up fat and unhappy. Hey, it makes sense.
Okay then, let's turn that scenario around. Tell yourself that you can get fit and you will be happy. It's that simple. You can master your own fate with positive thinking!

Test Yourself

To see whether your thoughts are predominantly positive or negative, test yourself. It sounds extreme, but you only need to do it once: Carry a small notebook around for an entire day. Each time a thought about yourself pops into your head, write it down and assess whether it's positive or negative. At the end of the day, tally your positive and negative thoughts. Even if you already suspect you lean toward the negative, seeing those thoughts on paper might give you the kick you need! When you change your attitude, you'll change your life.

Colors

What Colors Are on Your Plate?
Pick a color, any color. If you want to improve your health one serving at a time, choose vegetables and fruits of varying colors. Vibrant-colored fruits and veggies give you a range of phytonutrients, each with its own health-promoting strengths. Colorful plant foods happen to be incredible sources of soluble and insoluble fiber — both of which are essential for hormone balance and impossible to get from animal products.
Everyone knows that green veggies are great for you, but you don't always have to think green — explore your options. The UCLA Center for Human Nutrition has developed a system for grouping fruits and vegetables by color for easier selection. I've adapted this system into four categories, and I recommend aiming for one fruit or vegetable from each color group (including the greens!) every day.
Orange:  Carrots, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, and mangoes are high in beta-carotene, which may help cells communicate with one another a bit more frequently, therefore increasing the body's ability to avoid cancer. Beta-carotene also plays an important role in the production of progesterone, which contributes to a smooth pregnancy.
Yellow: Research suggests that the vitamin C in citrus foods can be a stress-buster. A German study tested this theory by subjecting people to a high-stress situation (they had to do math problem in front of a bunch of other people — I'd say that's stressful!). Half of those studied were given 1,000 mg of vitamin C and half were not. The people who did not get the vitamin C had elevated levels of cortisol and high blood pressure — surefire signs of stress. Those who'd taken vitamin C felt less stressed. (However, why supplement? Get the real thing and eat your vitamin C!) Foods in the Yellow group include oranges, tangerines (I know that sounds odd, but nutritionally oranges and tangerines are "yellow"), yellow grapefruit, lemons, peaches, and nectarines.
Purple: Berries are powerhouse foods that can help you lose weight and keep your blood sugar low, so definitely include them in your diet. Look out for other purple fruits and vegetables too, including plums, prunes, grapes, and eggplant, which all boast numerous vitamins and minerals.
Red: Red fruits and veggies contain the phytochemical lycopene, a powerful cancer-fighting antioxidant.  Studies showed that men with high blood levels of lycopene had the lowest risk of developing prostate cancer. Tomatoes are one of the richest sources of lycopene. Plus, one cup of tomatoes gives you almost 60 percent of your daily value of vitamin C and almost 8 percent of your daily fiber needs. You can get the health benefits from organic pasta sauce, tomato paste, and ketchup — just make sure there's no high-fructose corn syrup in the products you buy!

Fat Burning Foods?

Are There Foods That Burn Fat?
Q: Are there really foods that burn fat? If so, what are they?
A: Not really, but there are foods that contain fewer calories than the body uses to digest them. Therefore, when you eat these foods (cruciferous veggies, leafy greens, and so forth), you're helping create a calorie deficit.
That said, there are also certain foods that will crank up your metabolism by releasing the right hormones. Protein will release more human growth hormone. Foods with selenium and zinc will support a healthy thyroid. You can boost your metabolic rate by eating clean, whole, fresh foods and avoiding processed foods and chemicals. But there is no food that will magically burn off fat. For that, you have to get off your butt and get moving!

Free Food!

Well, some food is virtually calorie free. Even if you're just eating healthy soup or making a salad, definitely include some chopped cruciferous veggies with your meal! Cabbage, kale, and rutabaga all offer more volume to keep you full longer and have practically zero calories — and you get all the good phytochemicals that come with them.

Stress

Stress Got Your Metabolism Down?
I'm sure you've heard of the fight-or-flight response, and you probably know that it's the way your body reacts to danger or stress. But do you know what the fight-or-flight response is? You guessed it: It has to do with hormones.
When you're faced with a danger, your adrenal glands release three hormones: norepinephrine, epinephrine (also known as adrenaline), and cortisol. Norepinephrine and epinephrine cause several changes to help you survive the danger, including a pause in insulin release so you have lots of blood sugar available for energy, an increase in heart rate and blood pressure, and a suspension of your appetite. After the danger has passed, cortisol tells the body to stop producing norepinephrine and epinephrine and stimulates your appetite again.
This response evolved to help people deal with short-term survival situations, like an attack by a predator. The trouble is, it occurs in response to all stressors, including the deadlines pummeling you at work and the traffic that drives you crazy. When stress is always present, your body can't get rid of the excess cortisol built up in the blood. That cortisol just hangs around, causing lots of trouble: It turns young fat cells into mature fat cells that stick with you forever, and increases your cravings for high-fat, high-carb foods.
When you give in to those cravings, your body releases a cascade of rewarding brain chemicals that can set up an addictive relationship with food — you stress, you eat. If you don't consciously control the pattern, you can become physically and psychologically dependent on that release to manage stress. In fact, people who self-medicate with food tend to have hair-trigger epinephrine reactions and chronic high levels of cortisol.
You can help yourself keep cortisol in check by limiting caffeine intake to 200 milligrams a day; avoiding simple carbs, processed foods, and refined grains; and getting plenty of high-quality protein. It's also crucial that you find stress-relief techniques that work for you. If you can tame your stress response and lower cortisol levels, you'll have a much easier time losing weight.

Alcohol

Help With Happy Hour

Q: How can I responsibly fit alcohol into my diet? I enjoy having a cocktail or a glass of wine at the end of the day, but I don't want to blow my calorie allotment out of the water. Are certain kinds of alcohol "better" than others?
A: There are several answers to these questions. Unfortunately, when you're trying to lose weight, alcohol is the enemy for a number of reasons:
Alcohol is really just a ton of empty calories.
It releases estrogen into your bloodstream, promotes fat storage, and decreases muscle growth.
It weakens your willpower and inhibition — one minute you're at happy hour, the next you're at the all-night diner ordering the bacon cheeseburger with fries and a vanilla shake. I mean, who does that sober? Certainly not you! (At least, not on my watch!)
Now, don't get me wrong — I LOVE my red wine, and I can knock back tequila shots with the best of them. But those things should be enjoyed once you're in maintenance mode, not while you're trying to lose weight. If you must give in to temptation, do so with extreme caution.
If you are going to drink, my recommendation is wine. Although alcohol poses a breast cancer risk, one study showed that women who had an occasional glass of wine (one or less a day) increased their risk by only 7 percent. When you consider that moderate consumption of red wine is also associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, that increased risk might not seem so bad. However, if you have a family history of breast cancer, or other risk factors, talk to your doctor about what's best for you.
Also, try to find organic wine, produced without pesticides or preservatives, such as added sulfites. All wines contain a small amount of naturally occurring sulfites, but many wine manufacturers add more to increase wines' shelf life. Check labels for added sulfites. Once you've started drinking wines without them, you'll never go back — you'll taste the difference right away.
If wine isn't your thing, you might occasionally go with clear alcohols. They're not as good a choice as wine, but I'd rather you choose them than dark-colored alcohols. Have a vodka and soda water with lime, or a tequila shot (careful, don't go nuts with these!). Be creative. But ladies: BEWARE the fruity Barbie drinks! Piña coladas, frozen margaritas, apple-pineapple-strawberry-mango-whatevertinis, and so on. They can add up to 1,000 calories each — and only pansies drink that stuff, anyway.
Whatever you do, remember the golden rule: Watch your calories. Count the alcohol you consume in your daily calorie allowance, and try not to have more than one drink a day or four drinks a week.

Water Filters

Want an easy way to be good to your body? Stay hydrated by guzzling down more water throughout the day. Water has zero calories, so it doesn't add to your waistline. Plus, it aids in just about every bodily function, including fat burning and energy production.
Unfortunately, the water that comes out of your tap may not be free of flaws. Water authorities do not yet regulate many endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and conventional water-treatment methods weren't designed to remove them. Studies have found trace amounts of pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and other substances in municipal water supplies.
Don't be worried thirsty, though. You can get clean water by using water filters religiously. First, go to EPA's Web site to learn about your local water quality and the substances you're dealing with. Then, consider the following three types of filters. Each has its pros and cons, but combining two kinds of filters should get good results.
Reverse-osmosis unit: Using a semipermeable membrane (which allows some molecules to pass through but not others), this type of filter removes particles and molecules of dissolved contaminants. Reverse osmosis can remove heavy metals, bacteria, and viruses, and it may remove some pharmaceuticals. However, it isn't effective for removing pesticides.
Distillation unit: This type of filtration system brings water to a boil, then collects the steam and condenses it back into water, leaving impurities (which need higher temperatures to boil) behind. Distillers can remove heavy metals, bacteria, and viruses, but they can't remove pesticides or pharmaceuticals.
Activated carbon filter: This type is the easiest to find and use. It's available in faucet-mounted models, under-the-sink units, and pitchers. Water flows through a carbon filter that attracts and traps many impurities. The types of contaminants filtered vary by brand, but all activated carbon filters remove chlorine, improve taste, and reduce sediment. Most remove heavy metals and disinfection by-products, and some remove parasites, pesticides, radon, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Bottled Water Isn't the Answer

The fewer plastics in your life the better, I say. However, I know you can't lug around water filters all day. Instead, when you're away from home, carry along a stainless-steel or ceramic-lined drinking bottle filled with filtered water. Avoid hard-plastic drinking bottles; many of these are made of polycarbonate, a type of plastic that contains an endocrine disruptor called bisphenol-A (or BPA). Also, don't be duped into buying "organic" water either — when it comes to water, that term doesn't mean anything!

Refined

Refined Is Not Fine!
"Enriched" sounds like it would be a good thing, right? Well, when it comes to grains, it's not.
Enriching a grain is an attempt to replace some of the nutrients taken out during refining. Refining grains extends their shelf life, but the bran and germ of the grain are removed during the process — and with them, almost all the fiber, vitamins, and minerals found in a whole-grain kernel. The B vitamins — thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid — and the iron that are removed during processing have to be restored to make the product "enriched." Sugars, salt, fats, and chemicals are also added to the finished product (but the heart-healthy fiber that was stripped out is gone forever).
Refined-grain products include white pasta, flour tortillas, white rice, and white bread. Nutritionally, they are mere shadows of healthful whole grains. You can think of refined grains as "fast carbs" — since there's practically no fiber to slow down their absorption, they cause your blood sugar to skyrocket, which leads to a spike in insulin levels. Over time, those repeated spikes can lead to insulin resistance and diabetes. In fact, people who eat three servings of whole grains a day have a 30 percent lower risk of diabetes than people who never eat whole grains.
When you're shopping for whole grains, be a savvy consumer. Products that say "whole grain" can still have refined grains in them. In fact, they are only required to be 51 percent whole grain. So that's more like "half grain" — don't buy into it. What to look for? If you see "enriched" as the first word on the ingredient list, put the product back on the shelf. Only if "100 percent whole ___" is the first thing on the list, do you know exactly what you're getting.

Plateaus

Busting Plateaus

There is nothing more discouraging than stepping on the scale after a week of diligent dieting and grueling workouts and not seeing any drop in the number. The plateau is a common problem among dieters and can typically be waited out, but there are measures you can take to keep your metabolism fired up even as you reduce your caloric intake.
The best way to break a plateau is to keep your salt intake below 2,000 milligrams a day and drink lots of water. Make sure you're not eating any processed carbs, period. That's right — no chips, sugar, white flour, and so on. And hit the gym hard! The boost in exercise will make your body swell and hold fluids for a few days, but after a week you should see the benefits on the scale.
You can also try playing around with your caloric intake a bit, varying it from day to day throughout the week while keeping the same weekly total. The body can't slow its metabolism to adjust to a reduced caloric intake if the intake isn't fixed from one day to the next. For instance, to bust my plateau, I might have 1,200 calories on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and then eat 1,500 calories on Tuesday, 1,600 on Thursday, 1,400 on Saturday, and 1,700 on Sunday. Get it?
The plateau effect can sometimes simply be a matter of declining resolve. If mixing up your caloric intake just isn't working, make sure you're not slipping up on your diet or slacking off in your workouts. I'm serious; it happens.
As with any program, there will be highs and lows, but stay with it. Your body is trying to adjust to the weight loss. Don't get scared or discouraged. Just be patient and know that you are worth it!

Water Weight

When you start a new diet or exercise program, you'll lose a significant amount of water weight at first, and it's likely that in the first month you will lose more weight than you would ordinarily expect because of the caloric deficits you build up from week to week. By the second month, your system will begin to even itself out, and weight loss will continue at whatever rate is compatible with your caloric intake/deficit ratio. Two pounds a week is a reasonable weight-loss goal.

Sugar

Hidden Sources of Sugar
Let's get something straight — I want you to stay far, far away from high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Seriously, this stuff really puts the "junk" in junk food! It's the most abundant source of calories in a lot of foods out there and it's terrible for you because it boosts your fat-storing hormones. Look at your labels and you'll find HFCS in so many foods that line the shelves in our grocery stores. But just because high-fructose corn syrup is evil doesn't necessarily mean halos are hovering over other sugars. There's more sweet stuff out there that you need to avoid!
We still have far too much of the noncorn variety of sugar in our diets, and it's definitely not doing anything good for our health or our waistlines. The average American eats more than 30 teaspoons of sugar a day — that's more than 114 pounds of sugar a year!
While sugar is everywhere, you must do your best to eat it in extreme moderation. The World Health Organization recommends no more than 12 to 15 teaspoons a day, or 48 to 60 grams. I prefer that you keep the amount as low as possible. Check your food labels — anything with "sugar" should obviously be avoided. However, sugar has many aliases. I'll give you a hint: Anything that ends in "-ose" is a sugar. See what I mean in the list below, and beware of these sweeteners in the foods you eat!
Dextrose
Evaporated cane juice
Fructose
Fruit juice concentrates
Galactose
Glucose
Honey
Invert corn syrup
Lactose
Malt
Maltose
Malt syrup
Maple syrup
Molasses
Rice syrup
Sucrose

Sugar in Fruit

Want to avoid wild blood sugar spikes? Eat whole fruits instead of fruit juices. Not only will they help your blood sugar stay in check, you'll also get beneficial fiber from the whole fruits as well. Just be aware that some fruits are high in sugar — even though they're nutritious and relatively low in calories. Some of the highest-sugar fruits are mangoes, pineapples, and bananas. I'm not saying to avoid these. (Trust me, you'd have to eat more fruit than you can imagine for it to be deemed unhealthy.) However, if you've been diagnosed with prediabetes or diabetes, it's time to limit your intake. If you want to eat fruits with less sugar, go for berries, tomatoes, and oranges.

Insulin Resistance

Understanding Insulin Resistance
We heard a lot about insulin in the days of low-carb diets. And for good reason. Problems with insulin are root causes of some of the most dangerous health conditions, as insulin affects almost every cell in the body.
Insulin plays a critical role in how your body uses food. Its most important role is to lower the concentration of glucose in your blood. When you eat, your digestive system breaks food down into glucose, and the glucose recirculates in your blood stream. In response to the rise in glucose after a meal, the pancreas releases surges of insulin, whose job is to clean the glucose from the blood. Some of the glucose is diverted into the liver, where it's converted into stored glucose, called glycogen, for later use by the muscles. Insulin then helps turn any leftover glucose into fatty acids and stores them in fat cells where they can be tapped later for fuel.
By making poor food choices, like scarfing down too many highly processed, refined carbs (like white bread and pasta!), we can do things to cause our bodies to create too much insulin. When you repeat that cycle too many times (like by repeatedly eating sugary junk on an empty stomach) your pancreas will overcompensate and produce more insulin, which your cells will eventually start to ignore. This is called insulin resistance and it is the precursor to type 2 diabetes and it is common in overweight people. Turned away at the door, the sugar is left with no where to go. If it hangs around in your blood too long, doctors call this impaired fasting glucose (if measured in the morning) or impaired glucose tolerance (if measured two hours after a meal). You could develop full-blown diabetes if both conditions go unchecked.
While high levels of blood glucose trigger insulin release, low levels suppress it, Maintaining low levels of insulin — one of the primary goals of the diet — allows your body to more easily tap in to your stored fat for fuel. Conversely, being insulin-resistant can hamper your weight-loss efforts. Try to avoid spikes in your blood sugar, by eating regularly. Pair carbs with protein, eat whole foods, avoid sugar juices and fruits, and highly-processed carbs. When your insulin-release mechanism works the right way, it helps keep your weight in check. So strive to keep it balanced!

Could You Be Insulin-Resistant?

If you have elevated levels of glucose in your blood (higher than 100 ml/dl), it is likely that you have insulin resistance. Other warning signs to look for are that you are obese or have fat in your gut, also known as visceral fat. (If you are a man, that means that your middle is more than 40 inches around and if you are a woman, it means that your middle is more than 35 inches.) Other signs might be high blood pressure, acne, elevated triglycerides, fatty liver disease, and lowered "good" cholesterol (HDL). If you have concerns, it's best to consult your doctor as insulin resistance can greatly affect your health and weight-loss efforts.

boredom

Stave Off Boredom and Stop Overeating
Hey, you! Yeah, you! Did you just spend the last three nights in a row mindlessly munching in front of the television? If this sounds about right, you're not alone.
Boredom is one of the most common causes of overeating. SO many of us are drawn to the fridge the minute we have a little downtime. But if you eat because you can't find anything else to do, you're sabotaging yourself.
So, what's the good news here? Well, part of your work is already done — you've identified boredom eating as a problem. But that was the past. Focus on the present — take the time to think ahead and come up with ways to combat every potentially sabotaging situation. For example, if food commercials on television make you hungry and/or drive you to snack uncontrollably, record or DVR your shows so that you can skip those tempting commercials. Or, keep a few magazines close by so that you have something to zone out with until the commercials are over.
Losing weight isn't about making willpower an overwhelming new personality trait; it's about changing your everyday behavior. You can do this.

Make A Meal of It

When you eat, make a meal of it. No, I don't mean have several dishes when you're not that hungry. I mean take the time to enjoy your food. Turn off distracting noises, shut doors if possible to create a calm atmosphere. Play soothing music, set a nice table using your best dishes and silverware. And, no multi-tasking! That means no phone conversations, reading, texting, or working while you eat. Just focus on your food. Not only will you savor your food more this way, you'll be more aware when you are full and less likely to eat beyond hunger.

Portion Sizes

Easy Calorie Counting
When it comes to losing weight, "calories in/calories out" is the name of the game. Burn more than you consume — it's that simple. But how do you know how many calories you consume in the first place?
Getting an accurate calorie count is easy on days when you can measure all your meals and snacks with the help of a measuring cup and scale. Once you've done all the scooping and weighing, you can get the number by adding up the calories based on your portion sizes. But how do you estimate calories when those tools aren't available?
If you're eating out, here are some useful tips for assessing portion sizes:
The size of your fist is roughly equal to a 1-cup serving of cereal, wild rice, black beans, and most other grain foods.
The size of your thumb is roughly equal to a 1-ounce serving of cheese.
The center of your palm of your hand, without fingers, is roughly equal to a 3-ounce serving of fish, chicken, beef, or other meat.
Easy, right? Give yourself a hand — no pun intended — and start measuring!

Bloating?

Beat the BloatYou know sodium best as table salt, but salt and sodium are hidden in all kinds of products, including packaged foods, fast foods, frozen foods, canned foods, and condiments, to name a few.
When you eat sodium, the excess sodium is deposited just beneath the skin where it attracts water, which is retained in your cells. This makes you look puffy and feel bloated.
You don't have to make yourself crazy over this, because there is sodium in everything! But here are a few tips:
 Read labels to check the sodium content of what you're eating.
Replace processed foods with fresh.
Avoid prepackaged and canned foods.
Be wary of salt-laden condiments and use very little soy sauce, mustard, and table salt.
Go easy on dairy, and avoid processed meat (hot dogs, jerky, bologna, corned beef), anything pickled (pickles, capers, sauerkraut), relish, ketchup, and butter.
Here are some sodium-free substitutes you can use instead: garlic, lemon, olive oil, vinegar, pepper, basil, cayenne, chili powder, cilantro, cumin, curry, dill, garlic powder, ginger, lemon, lime, mint, onion powder, oregano, paprika, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon, and thyme.

Go Veggies!

Diuretic veggies will also help because they contain potassium, which can help prevent fluid retention and metabolic slowdown. Spinach, lettuce, all greens (mustard, collard, beet, dandelion), parsley, argula, watercress, asparagus, and cucumber all have diuretic qualities. So eat up!

Toxic

Ditch Toxic Food Additives!

Did you know that processed foods make up almost 60 percent of our diet? That's a lot of food! For the good of your health, now and in the future, it's time to get rid of processed foods that contain harmful additives.
"Antinutrients" are foods that don't deliver any value to your diet, and here are the ones I want you to toss immediately: foods that contain artificial preservatives, colors, and flavorings. These additives pose health risks that aren't worth it when you can easily just say no!
Regarding artificial preservatives, you might ask, "How could an idea with such a good intention — to prevent spoilage and food poisoning — go so incredibly wrong?" Well unfortunately for us, most preservatives are bad news. A common preservative, BHA, is found in hundreds of foods, including cereals, sweets, and snack foods, and is "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen" by the FDA. Incredibly, though, it's still deemed safe. That's not what I'd want to put into my body, and you shouldn't want to either.
Instead: When you're at the grocery store, check packages for signs of BHA, which also goes by the names anisole, butylated hydroxyl-; antioxyne B; antrancine 12; butylhydroxyanisole; tert-butyl hydroxyansiole; embanox; nepantiox 1-F; phenol, tert-butyl-4-methoxy; phenol, (1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-methoxy-; sustane 1-F; and tenox BHA. Long list to memorize, huh? Better just to avoid BHA by staying away from processed foods altogether.
The same goes for artificial coloring. There has been an ongoing debate over whether there's a link between kids' behavior problems and artificial coloring and preservatives. One recent study showed that after preschoolers and grade school kids ate an additive-free diet for six weeks and then reintroduced additives to their diets, their hyperactivity levels rose dramatically. Artificial colors have also been linked to thyroid, adrenal, bladder, kidney, and brain cancer.
Instead: Always choose foods with the fewest artificial chemicals and colors for your kids. The worst color offenders are blue 1 and 2, green 3, red 3, and yellow 6. Choose color-free medication, and when you allow your kids a treat, make sure it's a small portion of the real thing, not something filled with fake colors and flavors. For example, give them real ice cream (small amount!) instead of a rainbow freezy pop.
Now we move on to our pals the glutamates, which are "flavor enhancers" added to foods to heighten the savory experience. They're produced by the hydrolysis of proteins, a process that "frees" the glutamates from the proteins. The most frequently talked about one is monosodium glutamate, or MSG, and it is in everything — canned foods, bouillon, ice cream, ranch dressing, corn chips, and the list goes on. MSG has been reported to cause headaches as well as more serious health conditions, and government regulations now require foods that contain it to be labeled "Contains MSG." While some glutamates exist in natural foods, like cheese and meat, the processed-food industry often adds multiple forms of glutamates — at times as many as four kinds — to pump up the flavor of a food and keep you craving more. High levels of free glutamates mess with your brain chemistry and nervous system big-time.
Instead: Don't be fooled by words like "natural flavor" and "spices"; foods marked like this may actually contain glutamates. Eliminate as many glutamates as possible from your diet, and explore ways to boost the natural flavors of foods. Fermented foods, wine, soy sauce, Parmesan cheese, anchovies, and ketchup are all naturally flavorful ways to enhance your dishes. Also, the cooking method you choose — roasting, smoking, or slow grilling — can make foods richer and more savory.

Not All Additives Are Evil

Food additives are tricky because sometimes they're necessary. Really, who wants to get a case of botulism? The key is to know which are the lesser of the evils. Some additives, like ascorbic acid (vitamin C), beta-carotene (a precursor to vitamin A), and inulin (a type of fiber used in many products, including cereals, granola bars, and yogurt), are safe and may even have health benefits.

Sabotage

Identifying and Addressing Saboteurs
You've identified your weight-loss goals. You've declared them to others. You've talked the talk, and now you're walking the walk by exercising regularly and making healthy changes to your diet. Your efforts are starting to pay off — you've lost some pounds, feel energized, and are committed to staying the course.
Why then, does your loved one not seem as excited about your self-improvement as you? Maybe he or she is always trying to persuade you to skip a workout or always suggests pizza when it's his or her turn to cook. Is your partner subtly sabotaging you on your journey to total health?
If you feel this might be the case, ask yourself why. It doesn't mean that the person doesn't care about you. It could be that he or she is feeling insecure and threatened at the prospect of your transformation for the better. Your partner might be worried that if you lose weight and get healthy, you'll leave and find someone better. More likely than not, this person has no idea that he or she is undermining your resolve. Sit down together and assure him or her of your love and then talk about what's going on. Give examples of behavior he or she's exhibited that has sabotaged you in the past. Keep reassuring this person of his or her value and importance in your life.

Insulin

How Insulin Plays A Critical Role

One of the endocrine system's most important hormones is insulin, which plays a critical role in how your body uses food. When you eat, your digestive system breaks food down into glucose, and the glucose circulates in your bloodstream (where it's often referred to as blood sugar). In response to the rise in glucose after a meal, the pancreas releases surges of insulin, whose job is to clean the glucose from the blood. Insulin directs some of the glucose to the body's cells, which use it for energy. Some of the glucose is diverted to the liver, where it's converted into glycogen (stored glucose) for later use by the muscles. Insulin then helps turn any leftover glucose into fatty acids and stores them in fat cells, where they can be tapped later for fuel.
Problems arise when your body starts creating too much insulin, which can happen for several reasons. One of the most common is that you ate too many highly processed, refined carbs, such as white bread or pasta. Such carbs increase blood sugar dramatically, requiring a rush of insulin to clear the blood. If your blood sugar surge is really dramatic (as it would be if you ate those refined carbs on an empty stomach), insulin overreacts and works twice as hard to clean the sugar from the blood. This overefficient removal of sugar means that your blood sugar concentration drops, with the result that you feel hungry again and crave (and probably eat) more carbs. That's the postsugar "crash and binge" cycle, the root of sugar addiction. In addition, when your muscles are still fueled  from your last snack, the insulin converts those extra calories into fat. And as long as large amounts of insulin remain in the bloodstream, your body won't have a chance to tap into your fat stores for fuel — so you won't burn any fat, either.
This cycle can eventually lead to insulin resistance, a condition in which your body produces insulin but the cells become insensitive to it — as a result, the insulin can't do its job to lower the glucose concentration in the blood. Insulin resistance is a precursor of type 2 diabetes and is common among overweight people. Elevated levels of glucose in your blood is a surefire sign of it.
There is hope for preventing the problem. The key is to maintain low levels of insulin by eating whole foods, pairing carbs with protein, and avoiding highly processed carbs. When your insulin-release mechanism works the right way, it helps keep your weight in check. When it's not working, you're in trouble. If you can take control of your insulin's ups and downs, you'll be primed to lose weight and restore your body's hormone power!

Muscle Helps, Too!

Every pound of muscle burns three times more calories than does a pound of fat. Muscles scoop up blood sugar and enhance your body's insulin sensitivity — the more muscle you have, the more cells are available to absorb glucose, and you won't have to produce as much insulin after meals. Your muscle cells will be more efficient at using glucose for fuel, so your body won't have to store as much food as fat.

Intense Exercise

Intense Exercise and Your Growth Hormone


After you work out, do you have the feeling that you can do anything? Well, you're not alone. That "runner's high" (which is actually triggered by any form of exercise, not just running) comes about because exercise floods your body with endorphins. These helpful biochemicals lift your mood and stimulate the release of another important hormone that affects your metabolism: human growth hormone (sometimes called HGH). This hormone is something we all want, and lots of it. It builds muscle, burns fat, helps you resist heart disease, protects your bones, and increases your overall health. To be clear, I'm NOT talking about the HGH that you've probably heard about in the news, in reference to doped-up athletes — that's the injected kind and it's definitely something you do NOT want. I'm talking about the natural kind that your body produces with exercise.

The key to turning your body into a growth hormone factory is to exercise at a high intensity level. During intense exercise, growth hormone spurs the body to use fat as fuel instead of glucose. So you burn more fat as you exercise, and you're keeping your blood glucose levels stable, which gives you more energy to keep going. On the other hand, lack of exercise makes your muscles insulin-resistant and suppresses growth hormone. So make sure you are getting that high-quality, intense exercise to work up those growth hormone levels — it's the healthiest way to reverse aging and make yourself stronger.

Get Your Zs!


Of all the less-than-smart things we do to mess up our hormone balance, depriving ourselves of good-quality sleep is probably the dumbest. Growth hormone is released in adults in an average of five pulses throughout each day. The largest of these pulses happens during our deepest stage of sleep, stage 4. A University of Chicago study found that when people are deprived of this stage of sleep, their daily growth hormone levels fell 23 percent.

Fear Of Change

Fear of Change


Fear of change can keep you in a soul-crushing job, a bad relationship, or a physically destructive lifestyle. Ask yourself: Is the devil-you-know approach really good enough for you? Is your life making you happy? If you answered no to either of those questions, WHAT do you have to lose by embracing change?

The truth is, things should be changing — your body is changing, your habits are changing, your attitude is changing. This might be the point where, because of so much change, you're starting to freak out a little bit. You might be asking yourself, What will all this change mean — to my life's direction, my relationships, my identity?

I can't stress enough how important it is to resist any pressure you may be feeling from others to stop improving your habits or to remain a certain size. And don't worry if your spouse, family members, or friends aren't on board with your plans. You can't control them. They'll change if and when they want to change. Take care of yourself first.

Maybe you're afraid you won't know how to love yourself if you're not a certain size. Many people are buried in their weight, not knowing who they would be without it. This is especially a risk if you've never identified yourself as "skinny." Don't be afraid of what you'll be like when you're thinner. Feel the fear and do it anyway! And don't sabotage your efforts because you don't deem yourself worthy — you are SO deserving of achieving your weight-loss goal! Let's dig deep, get our hands dirty, and do this. What is there to be afraid of when you're healthy — besides living the life you're supposed to lead? When you're overweight and uncomfortable, there is so much less you can do, and you always live with the threat of having a stroke, developing type 2 diabetes, or getting cancer. Obviously, a lot more risks are involved if you give up and stay stuck instead of making changes.

The only thing that's holding you back from achieving your dreams is YOU. Believe in yourself, and stop letting your excuses keep you from living. Screw surviving — it's time to thrive!

Sticking With the Status Quo

Here's a really common manifestation of the fear of change, one I hear about all the time: You're afraid your partner won't love you if your size changes. And your partner is fearful that if you change, you might outgrow the relationship and leave. As a result, you or your partner — or you and your partner — might be trying to sabotage your weight loss so you can stick with the status quo. That's the wrong way to go, buddy. You are trying to change your life, but that doesn't mean your partner shouldn't or won't love you for doing just that.

Turning a Problem Into An Opportunity

How To Turn A Problem Into An Opportunity


Sure, it's tough to pinpoint the root of your problems. However, if you've been examining your emotional eating habits, you should be seeing some behavioral shifts. Are you checking to see if you're actually hungry versus just looking to feed your emotions? Do you have go-to non-food outlets to help you express your emotions? Whether it's grabbing your journal and getting your feelings out on paper or getting together with a friend for a hike or manicure and some feel-good bonding, you CAN make sure you get on (and stay on!) a healthy path.

There's one final aspect of emotional eating you need to address — what to do when you can't resolve an issue or a situation at the exact moment when it is triggering you to behave self-destructively. Certain obstacles can sometimes seem insurmountable, and the next time you encounter one, I want you to ask yourself the following question:

How can I turn this problem into an opportunity?

Instead of allowing this event or emotion to cause permanent damage to your self-esteem, try looking at it in a different light. If you've recently gone through a breakup, for example, realize that the end of one relationship simply means that you are free to find someone better for you. Allow yourself to feel sad, but try to stay positive and find meaning in the pain rather than numbing it with food and indulging in other destructive habits. You will grow from it in amazing ways, I promise.

Stick With It

Having the means to cope with emotional eating is a huge step toward ending this form of self-sabotage. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but you can use the insights and self-knowledge you've gained through these exercises to make real changes. You will be amazed at how simple it can be to break out of the negativity and self-doubt. The more you focus on understanding the situations and emotions that trigger this destructive habit, the easier it will be to eliminate emotional eating from your life.

Dining Out Tips

Dining Out Tips


Going out for dinner and want to stick to your healthy eating plan? It's not as hard as you think. If you want to stick to your diet when dining out, get comfortable with asking your server to help you meet your needs. There are several ways to modify dishes when eating out. Here are my top three dining-out tactics:

Educate yourself. Don't be afraid to ask your server lots of questions about the restaurant's food so that you can make healthy choices. Ask what's used in the preparation, how large the portion is, what comes on the side — these are all things you want to know now that you are eating right.

Make substitutions. I'm always ordering chicken fajitas, but instead of the Mexican rice and refried beans, I ask for a salad on the side. Ask for grilled vegetables instead of a baked potato or french fries, sliced tomatoes instead of hash browns. You get the idea — this stuff will take a little extra thought at first, but in no time it will become second nature.

Make modifications. If you have scoured the menu and there are no healthy options, you can usually create your own by requesting a few modifications to the preparation of your food. Ask if you can have your fish grilled instead of breaded; ask if you can have Dijon mustard sauce on the chicken instead of cream sauce; request salad dressing on the side; ask for the chef to use just a small amount of olive oil.

Bon appetite!
No Shame!

Don't be embarrassed or afraid to stick to your diet when eating out, even if it means bringing your own condiments along so that you are never stuck with what's available. Let go of the guilt you've been conditioned to feel if you leave food on your plate. Stop eating if you are full. And, since restaurant portions are often twice what they should be, ask the server to bring a to-go container along with your dish, so you can immediately remove half your entrée from the plate

Sleep

Are You Getting Too Much Sleep?


Are you one of those people who likes to brag that you get by on very little sleep? Or do you love to sleep the day away? I've told you before that too little sleep can mess up your weigh-loss efforts, but did you also know that sleeping too much can also negatively affect your metabolism as well?

If you sleep 10 hours a night, you might face some of the same hormonal risks as those who sleep too little. A recent Canadian study found that people who sleep fewer than seven hours or more than nine hours weigh an average of four more pounds (and had wider waists) than people who sleep eight hours every night. Researchers believe that having too much or too little sleep interferes with your ability to control your appetite, because it simultaneously increases the hunger hormone, ghrelin, while it decreases the satisfaction hormone, leptin.

Want to be sure you are getting all the benefits of a good night sleep? Get your rest! Shoot for a consistent eight hours of sleep and stick with the same bed time and wake-up time each day — even on the weekends!

Perhaps one of the biggest causes and symptoms of the hormonal shutdown from stress is when people start to cut into their hours of quality sleep. The percentage of young adults sleeping eight to nine hours per night has almost been cut in half in the past 50 years, from 40 percent in 1960 to 23 percent in 2002. During the same time period, the incidence of obesity has nearly doubled. Coincidence?

Emotional Eating

Nice Piece by Jilian Micheals

Q: I'm an emotional eater. I know I crave food when I'm feeling insecure or down, but I don't know how to say no to the cravings when I'm feeling that low. Do you have any strategies for beating emotional cravings?

A:

I get this question ALL the time. Okay, it doesn't take a genius to know you need to eat less and move more to lose weight, so why do so many of us continue to struggle with our weight year after year? It has everything to do with how we feel when we eat, and why we choose to eat what and when we do. It's important that we understand how our emotions and behaviors affect our weight and eating habits so we can then learn how to motivate ourselves toward positive change.
I dedicated pages and pages to this subject in my first book, and it would be hard to address all the how's and why's here. But there are many techniques for combating emotional eating. Let's go over a few of your options for beating an emotional craving when it strikes:

• Remove the temptation. You can't emotionally binge on food that isn't there. Clear your cupboards of all the things you reach for when you're feeling down. Have your hubby hide the kids' Oreos so you don't know where to find them. Throw out the leftover birthday cake in the fridge. Skip the chip aisle the next time you go grocery shopping. If it's not available, you can't eat it — simple as that.
• Build a support system. Positive support from friends or family is crucial. The next time you find yourself mindlessly staring into the fridge, call a friend or a workout buddy and have him or her talk you off that ledge. Join a weight-loss group. Go to an OA meeting — ANYTHING to keep you from slipping back into old, bad habits.
• Spend your time wisely. Find a way to relieve stress and boost your mood that is positive and life-affirming rather than self-destructive. Take a bubble bath. Create a new workout playlist for your MP3 player. Plan a summer vacation (maybe at the beach, so you'll have a little motivation to slim down for your two-piece!). Go for a bike ride, walk the dog, pop in a workout video, get a manicure, or splurge on a massage — anything that makes you feel beautiful and healthy. You'll be far less likely to turn to food when you're feeling good.
• Write it down. Start a journal — and not just to write down what you eat. Take an inventory of what you're feeling, and write it down. It'll help you see what's really bothering you, which allows you to work on a solution instead of trying to find a distraction. If work has you stressed, buckle down for an all-nighter to get that project off your desk. If it was a fight with a friend, take a few deep breaths and try communicating with her, or simply give each other time to cool down and have faith in the fact that this, too, shall pass.

Things sometimes suck. That's an unfortunate fact of life. We're sometimes thrown a sudden curveball, and when that happens it's important to attend to yourself in positive ways. Bingeing on food, smoking, drinking, or any other indulgent habit may be a temporary relief, but you will only feel worse in the long run. Focus on really changing those habits and you'll break the cycle.

Slow Metabolism?

The Truth About Your Slow Metabolism


You probably know someone who can eat everything in sight, but still struggles to keep weight on. I don't know about you, but I can't do that. My metabolism certainly doesn't allow it — and I am guessing yours doesn't either. So where does a slowpoke metabolism come from and how do you change it? You probably want to blame bad genes for your metabolism. Sure, blame your parents! That's the easy way out. Genes are only a piece of the picture — it's the choices you make every day that are to blame. Wise up and take the responsibility yourself!

When we starve ourselves on yo-yo diets, eat processed foods, surround ourselves with toxins, work beyond the point of exhaustion, all these choices influence the way our metabolism processes food, burns calories, and regulates weight. To learn how to manipulate our biochemistry to our benefit, we have to understand how our hormones have already been manipulated to our detriment. Here are some of the ways.

Too many lazy years: You've spent a lot of time on the couch. Don't blame your lagging metabolism just because you never exercised.

Too many yo-yo diets: Instead of maintaining a stable weight, you've developed a frustrating up-and-down weight-loss pattern. You know the drill: You've repeatedly gone on extreme diets and lost weight, then you've slipped back into your old ways of eating and regained that weight.

Too many of the same foods, all processed: You've consumed frankenfoods that your body doesn't recognize as real food — because they're not!

Too many pesticides in our food: Some farmers spray harmful pesticides on our food, and you've chosen those over organic foods.

Too many toxins in our environment: More than 100,000 synthetic chemicals have been registered for commercial use — with 2,000 more added each year — but very few of them have been tested adequately for toxicity. You've been exposed to many synthetic chemicals in products in and around your home.

Too many bad bugs — and not enough good ones: You've tried to rid yourselves of pests with an onslaught of antibacterial products, which is pointless and not beneficial for the healthy functioning of your immune system.

Too many hours at work — and not enough in bed: You've let yourself get stressed out. Stress is like kryptonite for your hormones — even just a bit of it can throw them entirely out of whack.

Too many pharmaceuticals — even in our water: You've taken prescriptions dashed off by your doctor and haven't always checked out how they might interact with certain herbs, vitamins, or other supplements or prescriptions. All these pharmaceuticals could have a serious impact on your hormonal health.

Too many cigarettes: You've ignored all the medical findings on the damage smoking can cause. Smoking negatively impacts endocrine glands, which produce hormones, in addition to pretty much every cell in your body.

Basically too much, period! Yes, there is no denying that we are struggling with an environment that conspires to make and keep us fat. But you have the power to do something about it! You need to realize that your metabolism and hormones can start working for you again — just clean up your act with a healthy home and healthy eating, and you'll be able to tip the balance toward staying naturally skinny.

Triggers

Let Go of the Trigger


Okay, go grab a notebook or use your online journal. It's time to start getting real about your emotional eating. Sure, it can be a vicious cycle if you allow it to progress, but I'm going to show you a quick little trick to help you understand your behaviors and break the destructive pattern. Let's go.

Below are two questions. For a week, before you eat anything, whether it's dinner or a small snack, I want you to answer these two questions in your journal. Sound easy? Well, you might be surprised. By doing this, you'll be able to quickly tell if you've got real hunger or if your emotions are what's causing you to reach for a bunch of junk you know you don't need — or even really want.

1. Are you hungry?

Are you experiencing any physiological conditions that are signaling to you that you are hungry? Is your stomach growling? Do you feel weak or tired? Has it been longer than three or four hours since you last ate? If you concentrate on answering these questions, it will be very easy to determine whether you are genuinely, physically hungry or whether you are eating for a different reason. If you've determined that you are hungry, then it's time to eat. If not, it's time for the next question.

2. Are you depressed or anxious?

Did you just get into a fight? Are you anxious about a work-related deadline? Whatever it might be, write down what you're feeling and why you think you're feeling it. Getting in touch with your emotions here is critical. If you can't, you're going to have an incredibly difficult time reaching your weight loss goals. Dig deep, and get it in writing.

No Explanation Necessary

Here's the problem with keeping a paper journal: In order for it to work, you need to carry it with you everywhere. Unless you're a reporter or a novelist, your friends might be wondering why you're scribbling away in a restaurant or at a birthday party. If you don't feel comfortable offering an explanation, don't. You are doing this for yourself and no one else. Do what you need to do to write, even if it means excusing yourself and going into a more private room, the hallway, your car, or even a bathroom.

Fine Print

Read the Fine Print on Labels


Ever been told to "read the fine print" before signing a contract? It's a warning to check for loop holes and problematic terms before committing to something, right?

Well, it's a crummy fact of life but many things don't come as advertised. Packaged foods are no exception. Many items that are billed as healthy on the front label, reveal another story when you check out the ingredients on the back.

Don't be fooled by advertising. Avoid bad choices and be on the alert for these common food label traps:

Fat Free: Fat-free foods can be higher in carbs than their regular counterparts and may have almost as many calories. Fat-free cookies are a perfect example. Fat-free is not necessarily a better choice. Read your labels carefully.

Serving Size: If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is. You cannot use half a bottle of butter spray and still think you're getting zero calories and zero grams of fat! It's true that per serving it's just that, but spray your entire bowl of popcorn and you've got way more calories and fat than you intended.

Trans fats: While you're being smart looking at the packaging that says "trans fat-free," check the ingredient list to see if it contains partially hydrogenated oil. You may think your meal is in the clear because of the outside packaging, and while it's technically true if you only eat one-serving, you'd be eating the nasty trans fat too if you're going for more than one serving — something you're supposed to avoid at all costs!

Be cautious and keep yourself informed!

rball

Rick Rogers has lost 50 pounds.  We played raquetball last night for exercise - great calorie burner.  We are always trying to recruit new players - anyone interested?

Portion Sizes

Make the Portion and Calorie Cut


Americans have completely skewed ideas about portion size. No other country on earth offers portions as enormous as the ones here. Honestly, go anywhere else in the world and order a meal. You'll see the difference.

We're conditioned to believe that more equals better. Just look at the endless marketing of fast food; we're constantly encouraged to eat more in order to take advantage of a "bargain." But what kind of a bargain are you getting if you're eating 100 french fries in one sitting just to save a quarter you wouldn't have spent in the first place? And the reality is that Americans are paying for this illogical thinking with their health and their lives.

Here are a few techniques you can use to keep your portions under control.

If you're at home, use smaller plates. This creates the illusion of eating a bigger serving.

If you're at a restaurant and you know the portions are going to be huge, ask the server to put half your meal in a doggie bag before it even hits the table. This saves you money as well as unnecessary calorie overload.

Share an entrée with your dining partner.

Make a new rule for yourself: Always leave something on your plate. This reminds you that you are in control of the food, not the other way around. A little bit of empowerment can go a long way!

Emotional Eating

Emotional Triggers Behind Eating


You just got into a knockdown-dragout fight with your spouse. Or your kid. Or your mom. Or the guy behind you in the checkout line. Your reaction is to head for the kitchen to soothe yourself with something smooth, fattening, creamy, sugary, salty, or crunchy — pick your poison.

Sound familiar? If so, you're an emotional eater. But you've probably figured that out already. You've probably also figured out that unhealthy overeating leads not only to weight gain but to a destructive pattern of anxiety and self-loathing that's tough to break on your own. Want to break the cycle? I'm here to help.

You've got to start by facing the fact that there will never be a totally stress-free time in your life. There. That's as bad as it gets. Now on to the good news: You can stop emotional eating. The key is to identify the things that make you feel pressured, sad, angry, or anxious. Once you understand your triggers, you can break the cycle and start regaining control of when, why, and how you eat.

The best way to identify your emotional triggers is through self-examination. Face your issues. Bring them out of your subconscious and into your conscious reality. This is the most empowering thing you can do for yourself.

Let Go!

To change the present, you have to let go of your past. Forget about the times when you binged because you were upset, hurt, angry, or depressed. The past does not define you; the present does. Having a crystal clear vision of the future affects your behavior now. Let your daily actions be governed by your game plan for a new you. Keep that game plan in the forefront of your mind by writing about it and letting it become real. There's no deadline. Just commit to the process and take it day by day.

Writing

Write Away!


Don't panic over what I'm about to tell you: You have some writing homework. Now, I'm not sending you back to fifth grade with this one, but I do want you to get comfortable putting your thoughts and emotions on paper. You may be skeptical about this, but journaling on a regular basis will play a key role in helping you meet your weight-loss goals.

Let me explain. Your journal is a place for you to write everything down, to see it in front of you, and to work through your problems and toward your goals. Without a journal, it's too easy to avoid your hang-ups and stay in neutral.

Writing about your goals will also help you think them through: Do you want to be healthy, confident, physically and mentally strong? Are there clothes you want to wear that you can't now? Do you want to see and feel yourself in your ultimate body, living a new life, playing with your kids, going on a date, getting compliments from friends or coworkers? Whatever your ultimate goals, physical and emotional, write them down in as much detail as you can, and refer back to them often. They will help you stay motivated on your journey.

If you have easy access to your computer every day, take advantage of an online Fitness Diary — commit for one week to recording an entry a day in your diary. It's easy — do it when you log in to get your daily workout, or use it to organize your thoughts before you hop on the Boards. And it's a great place to record what's going on with you where food is concerned, too!

Plain Paper?

For those times that your aren't in front of you computer, choose anything from a simple lined notebook or a leather-bound blank diary. Besides writing down how you feel, you can include photos of yourself to chart your progress, pictures of clothes you'd like to wear, new recipes you'd like to try, and more. The sky's the limit! The most important thing is to find a journal that suits you.