What people think:   When you hit a sticking point during weight loss, it’s due to a stalled metabolism

What the reality is: Plateaus are a sign that your metabolism is doing its job

When trying to lose weight, most of us have hit the dreaded sticking point — when the scale won’t budge, your clothes aren’t getting looser and frustrations begin to rise. This is the time many people quit (because it’s “not working”) or pig out because they “might as well anyways.”  It’s the perfect time to re-evaluate your eating and exercise plan, and consider: How much weight have you lost so far?

“As most people find out, they can lose 10% of their bodyweight before it becomes more difficult to lose another 10%,” researchers say. “At about that point, the weight won’t come off as fast as it once did.”

There are two reasons why: First, you’re smaller, so your metabolism is matching the “new” you; second, your body thinks it’s starving, and as a result, thyroid hormone levels drop and your resting metabolic rate may drop 10%—25%, so you aren’t burning as many calories in a day as you were. And here’s what most of us forget: When we lose weight, we become lighter, meaning the amount of calories we burn in everyday activities drops as well. Eventually your metabolism adjusts to your new, smaller body.

WHen you hit that plateau, you have to bust through it.  Here’s some ways to increase your metabolism and kick start your weight loss once again.

1- Train with Weights

Weight training is shown to increase your EPOC (exercise post oxygen consumption) effect which leaves you with a raise in your metabolism for up to 48 hours after your training.  Weight training can also increase muscle tissue which metabolically active and burns calories even while at rest.

2- Do High INtensity Cardio

high intensity cardio is like weight training, taking you into an anaerobic zone of training.  This creates an oxygen debt and produces the same epoc effect as weight training, which leaves you with an elevated metabolism, even after your workout is over.

3- Change your calories

We all know how we have to keep changing things up in the gym in order to keep our body guessing.  Well, the same goes in the food department.  Our body is really good at adapting and if we’re eating the same amount of food/calories each day, our body will try to slow the metabolism to adapt to it.  By changing your calories regularly, you’ll be able to keep your body guessing and it won’t be able to adapt/plateau.

Our society has conditioned us to always be searching for the magic pill (or diet or fix…whatever)

There’s multiple diets, ways to workout and crazy pills or surgeries to use—-

The cookie diet—will you really eat diet cookies for the rest of your life? what happen when you go out with friends? will you bring your cookie?

P-90x— are you going to p90x yourself for the rest of your fitness career?

Cutting your stomach so it’s the size of a quarter—-guess what?! it can stretch back out and you’ll have to deal with the lack of absorbing nutrients.

When it comes down to it—-in order to lose weight and have it last, you’re best off going with the time trusted, good old diet and exercise.

THis is a lifestyle–long-term commitment.  You are making the decision to truly treat your body with respect.  You only have one body—Don’t you want it to work as well as it possibly can for as long as it possibly can?

You have to come to terms with this if you plan to keep the weight off.  You also have to figure out what obstacles have stopped you from losing weight in the past.  And what you’re going to do to work through/overcome those obstacles this time around.

4 common obstacles :

1–STRESS– people tend to eat when they’re stressed.  ANd to add fuel to the fire, when we’re stressed, hormones release a surge of insulin which turns extra calories into belly fat.

–How to Overcome it–

–Distinguish between stress-induced cravings and true hunger.—Pause, give yourself a few minutes and see if you really want to eat what you think you’re craving.  Take a couple of deep breaths and try to calm down –take your mind off the food and focus on what’s really going on.

–Have a glass of water– many times when we think we’re hungry, it’s truly thirst.  Be sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day.

–Distract yourself– take a walk, make a phone call, surf the internet…. the point is do something that distracts you and takes your mind off the stress.

2-DEPRIVATION– depriving yourself of your favorite foods is a powerful trigger for overeating.  it’s better to choose better foods to fuel your body and focus on portion sizes and eating in moderation.

–How to Overcome it–

–Eat real, whole foods.– whole foods such as beans, proteins and different types of vegetables will provide you with more fiber which is more filling.

–Don’t completely eliminate certain foods.– There’s no such thing as “good food and bad food”.  Everything can have it’s place in a balanced diet—-they key is the balance.  Look at your week as a whole and try to limit the unhealthiest foods to 10% of your week.

3-EXERCISE– This is a must.  If you’re truly committed and want long term results…. you’re going to have to exercise.  No matter how hard it is to “fit into your busy schedule”—schedule it in and do it early so you won’t have a chance to make excuses as the day goes on.

–How to Stick with it–

–Daily Exercise is Key!– You know the play 60 ad campaign for kids?  Well if kids need 60 minutes, adults need at least as much.  The main idea to get across is move everyday.  If you have a physical job then you won’t need as much exercise but most of us sit on our butts 90%of the day and should fit in at least an hour of movement/exercise.

–Don’t use exercise as punishment for a bad diet.– If you do this, you’ll end up miserable and most likely putting weight back on , in the long run.  Make exercise a part of your life and something you do no matter how you’re eating.  And if you “fall off the wagon” get your butt back up.  A little fall is not going to derail your whole situation.

–Tie in exercise with other parts of your life. — this will provide accountability.  Enlist your spouse, kids or a friend to embark on this lifelong journey with you. When you surround yourself with people who support you you’ll be more likely to stick with your routine and have lasting success.

–Don’t reward yourself with food.– Studies have shown that people  (women especially) who workout more, think they can reward themselves with food and eat more, because of their exercise.  This is counterproductive.

4- MINDLESS EATING– if you’re eating while you’re occupied doing other things (such as talking on the phone, watching tv or anything else) you’ll have a tendency to consume unnecessary and unhealthy choices.

–Be aware.– Pay attention when you eat.  Enjoy the taste, smell, texture, etc.  Your satiety will increase when you mindfully eat.

–SLow down and put the fork down.– Eating fast is a hard habit to break.  Putting your fork down in between bites helps you slow down  and focus on what you’re eating.

–Watch out for liquid calories.– You don’t get the sense of fullness when you drink calories.  Stick to water and tea and keep the weight off!

If your scale has recently gone up, you’re probably realizing just how much all of those holiday sugary treats can damage a healthy diet.

Sugar contributes to aging, blood sugar imbalances, cardiovascular disease, learning problems, obesity, tooth decay, type 2 diabetes and yeast infections.

Sugar also stimulates your appetite: It works like feeding stray cats—if you don’t want cravings, don’t feed them!

Cut out artificial sweeteners and sugar to flatten your belly. You don’t need to go on a crash diet to rid yourself of cravings and lose pounds. Just add more fiber! Fiber keeps you feeling full while adding nutritional value. (think beans and legumes, as well as squash and sweet potatoes. )

To keep your blood sugar balanced and fight cravings, you need at least 25 grams of fiber per day. —if that seems like you’ll never be able to achieve that—1 tsp of psyllium in a glass of water with a splash of cranberry will do the trick.

And remember–it’s difficult to lose weight without exercising, so make regular workouts part of your plan.

Ok…. you did it….. you binged at a holiday event or a night out.  You feel guilty about how much and what you ate and you just might have a food hangover.

Stop! it was one time…..don’t throw it all in now and tell yourself that you might as well eat as much crap as possible until January 1st comes along.  If you fall off the wagon, dust yourself off and get back on it again.

Slips or overindulging tends to happen around this time of year.  The KEY is to not let it snowball.

People tend to slip —say at a night out on Friday…then tell themselves that they’ll just start up again with their healthy lifestyle on Monday.  (or sometimes on Jan 1)  That’s one of  the biggest mistakes you can make.  And that’s how a small things can turn into a couple pounds on your backside.

IT’s alright to fall off every once in awhile… you’re human.  But don’t let yourself stay down.  Get back up stay focused and recharge yourself with some new motivation.

for more motivation—check out the forums for support and advice.

This is the time of year that work parties, cookie exchanges, family get togethers and everything else seems to get in the way of our healthy lifestyles.

Here’s 5 simple steps to NOT blowing it at holiday parties.

1- Have a plan. –go in to the event knowing that you’ll only have 1 glass of wine and a sliver of dessert OR a few puff pastries and artichoke dip and that’s it.  Thinking about it before you go will make you conscious of what you’re doing rather then just throwing in the towel and “starting over  tomorrow”.

2- Don’t stand next to the buffet table— if you’re there, you’ll naturally eat more.  Put what you want on a plate and then move away form the table.  Engage in conversation, sip a drink but whatever you do…. dont stand next to the food.

3- Don’t go hungry— don’t “save up you calories” or go to an event hungry.  You will overindulge and eat way more calories than you normally would.  Have a snack before you go or at least eat your normal meals throughout the day.

4- Fill half your plate with veggies— they have fiber (that will fill you up ) and you’ll be saving calories.

5- If you had a great workout earlier…it’s not an excuse to stuff your face.  Keep it in check and remember, we’re looking for ways to get ahead of the game…. not ways to stay the same or fall behind.  : )

Can food journaling really help you lose weight?

According to a group of researchers involved in the Weight Loss Maintenance study, the answer is a resounding yes. In the study, which was conducted at four locations across the US including Johns Hopkins University and Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, nearly 1,700 overweight and obese Americans were asked to keep a daily journal of both food and exercise and attend weekly classes on healthy eating and moderate exercise.

After six months, participants lost an average of 13 pounds. When researchers analyzed the data, they found that weight loss virtually doubled between those who kept a journal and those who didn’t.

According to J. Graham Thomas, Ph.D., Co-Investigator for the US-based National Weight Control Registry (which monitors the habits and behaviors of more than 5,000 individuals who have lost weight and kept it off for at least a year), “Keeping a food log ranks up there among the top three or four most important strategies people use to lose weight and keep it off.” In other words, in addition to cleaning up your diet and exercising regularly, writing down what you eat is one of the most important things you can do to lose weight and best of all, keep it off.

There is an area on your body where most people have anxiety over.  THere’s jeans made to specifically enhance this area, there are undergarments to boost it up.  All this exterior help is only temporary.  When are we going to realize that we need to exercise and make some true progress!?

People tend to think that running is one of the end all be all exercises.  I’m not super fond of running—but sprinting is a whole other story!

Sprinting is an amazing way to develop definition and firm up the glute hamstring area.  Running (properly) engages the glutes.  Jogging doesn’t cut it.  Sprinting does.  It’s the explosiveness in sprinting that contracts the glutes really hard.

Not only does sprinting work the glute hamstring fold but it also is great at burning bodyfat.  (Which is only going to help that bodacious area.) Sprinting creates major metabolic changes in your body.  Research has shown that high intensity exercise will burn calories long after your workout is complete.  Sprinting also increases your body’s ability to increase HGH—which is your body’s natural fat burning hormone.

So get outside and get to sprinting!  If you’re really up for a challenge—sprint some hills!

For some great sprint workouts, check out our forum.

Is it possible to attend holiday parties and events without gaining that dreaded 5-10 lbs?

Maybe—but you need a plan!

Here’s some great tips to keep in mind especially during this next month but also throughout the year.

–Stick to CLEAN eating when not at restaurants or holiday events.   Eat lean proteins and veggies for most meals.

–Get in a workout whenever you can.  Have 10 min before you shower to head out to that party? Get in some pushups, dips, squats and lunges.  Do 3 rounds of these and throw in some burpees or jumping jacks at the end, for 30 secs each.  You’ve just blasted through some calories and will fell good about getting in some exercise —which will prompt you to want to eat better at your event later that day.

–Speaking of starting the day off right….. eat a nutritious breakfast.  It will help keep your blood sugar stable and ward off cravings.  And studies show that people who eat breakfast, tend to eat less calories overall throughout the day than non-breakfast eaters.

–Keeping with the blood sugar talk…. when you do indulge in sweets… eat them after some protein.  Not on an empty stomach.  Your blood sugar will stay more balanced once you’ve had the protein and you won’t want to keep stuffing your face with more sugar!

–DOn’t arrive at the party starving! Eat a small amount of lean protein before heading out.  That way you will be more likely to remain in control of your appetite and make conscious choices.

– Be selective about your indulgences.  Do you really need that bread and pasta? or would you rather save it for that yummy dessert.  And once you’ve chosen your indulgences, enjoy reasonable portions.

–Stand away from the food table.  If you stand next to it, you will continue to pick from it and inevitably overeat.  Instead, grab a small plate and fill it with a few things you’d like and move on. And remember to take time to enjoy where you are.  Enjoy conversation with friends and family & spend time on what’s truly meaningful– and take the focus off the food.

Thanksgiving is 4 days away!

My inbox is already getting bombarded with cookie swap invites,  christmas get together’s and a whole lot more “let’s do dinner” invitations.

How are you staying clean with all of the temptations?  How are you going to step it up when everyone’s trying to get a piece of your time?

The Average American GAINS 5-10 LBS! during the HOLIDAY Season!

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