Posts Tagged ‘Weight loss’

Today I’m going to share with you a fabulous FREE  resource called Fat Loss Quickie Motivation Boosters.

This eBook/worksheet/video package was put together by Scott and Angie Tousignant who developed the Sizzlin’ Circuits videos and, of course, the famous Fat Loss Quickie program.

Motivation Boosters is a collection of 7 strategies that Scott and Angie used to completely transform themselves into the fit, healthy people they are today.  The heart of the program is a set of printable worksheets on topics such as goal setting and tracking, and how to discover which of your fitness beliefs are holding you back.  I particularly like the calendar used to countdown the days until the date you’ve set for meeting your goal.  There’s even a cute bulls-eye graphic to hang on your refrigerator to keep you on target!

The eBook has detailed instructions on how to use each worksheet and videos to explain even further.

I urge to you download the Fat Loss Quickie Motivation Boosters package right now.  After all, it’s FREE so what have you got to lose?

Every now and then I come across an article or advertisement about leptin weight loss supplements so I decided to dig into the subject and find out more about it.

Leptin is a hormone produced by fat cells in your body.  Its function is to signal your brain whether or not you have enough stored fat cells to be healthy.  If you have enough fat cells, the leptin signals your brain not to be hungry. In other words, it suppresses your appetite when there is no biological reason to eat.  Of course there are other signals, such as feeling physically too full, but leptin plays a part hormonally.

So why does anyone gain weight?

The more fat cells you have, the more leptin you produce, right?  It would seem that all that extra leptin would be sending extra appetite suppressing signals to your brain.

Well, the problem is that your brain becomes resistant to the signals.  Leptin is a relatively new discovery so more research needs to be done but, just as you learn to tune out the annoying whining of an obnoxious child or co-worker, your brain tunes out the constant reminders from the over abundance of leptin in your bloodstream.  Ironically, the more fat you carry on your body, the more you feel like eating!

So why would it make sense to add more leptin to the mix and expect to lose weight? Researchers have experimented with leptin supplementation  and had mixed results.  Some people lost weight and some gained.  As I said, leptin is a fairly recent discovery so perhaps different people’s fat produces different levels of leptin.  And there’s always the placebo effect on a certain percentage of participants in this type of study.

Another study concluded that people who severely restrict their calorie intake have decreased leptin levels in their blood.  This causes increased appetite and makes losing weight more difficult.

But what if your body doesn’t produce any leptin at all? You’d be hungry all the time and want to eat all day!  Actually, doctors have come across a few individuals with this condition, but only about 6 in the whole world.  If you are overweight, it’s highly unlikely to be caused by lack of leptin!

Although leptin hasn’t been proven to help with weight loss, there is research showing that, once you’ve lost the weight and gotten your leptin levels to where they should be, supplementation might be able to help you keep it off.

As you may have guessed by now, I do not recommend taking leptin supplements as a weight loss aid. One more reason not to waste your money on leptin pills:  leptin is a protein and so cannot be absorbed if taken orally.  The only way to get it into your bloodstream is to inject it.

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“Can I be on a diet and still lead a normal life?”

This question might sound kind of funny at first but it is a serious concern for the person who is devoted to their weight loss program and doesn’t want to do anything to jeopardize their chances of success.

Most people who ask this question are really asking if they can eat out while trying to lose weight.  And my answer is, of course you can, as long as you use some common sense!  Here are some things you can do to stay on course when eating at a restaurant or someone else’s house:

• Eat something filling and healthy, such as an apple, before going out to eat.
• Try everything but take small servings  of the high calorie dishes.
• Spend more time talking to the people you’re with than eating.
• Drink water between bites to make yourself feel fuller.
• Try to limit eating out to once per week.

Think of it this way:  you eat 21 meals a week.  If you over do it at one of those meals, you probably won’t sabotage yourself.  However, if you find yourself going out for a big burger or sub for lunch 5 days a week, you might not really be committed to your weight loss program.

If you truly want to succeed, hoping to lose weight but clinging to your old eating habits is not going to get you where you want to be – that’s what got you where you already are!

If you haven’t done so already, take a second right now to sign up for my FREE 40 Healthy Weight Loss Tips.

Have you been dieting for weeks but feel as if you’re making very little progress?

Maybe your weight loss program is just not realistic!  Here are some unrealistic ideas that may be blocking your success.

Unrealistic Goals

If you are following a realistic, healthy eating plan, you will lose, on average, a pound a week.  You may lose more some weeks and less some weeks, but, over time, the average will be a pound a week.  That means around 4 pounds per month.  If you are expecting to lose 30 pounds in a month, you are being unrealistic and are going to be disappointed.

Unrealistic Plan

If you are following an extreme, restrictive diet, you are doomed to fail.  Even if you lose tons of weight, it will all come back and then some when you return to your regular eating patterns.  Why would you want to put yourself through all that misery and deprivation just to weigh less for a few days?

A realistic food plan has to be seen as a lifestyle change, not a quick fix.  In order to lose and maintain your desired weight,  you need to commit to eating a normal, healthy, balanced diet of real foods that you can follow for the rest of your life.  And by “real foods” I do not mean shakes, bars, or pills!

Unrealistic Self-Expectations

Are you perfect?  Do you never make mistakes?  Of course not!  But many people look at a diet slip-up as a reason – or maybe an excuse –  to drop the whole thing.  If you happen to make a bad eating choice now and then, forgive yourself and move on!  You will occasionally have a bad day.  Just don’t let it turn into a bad week, then a bad month, etc.  Acknowledge that you momentarily got off course then get right back on!

By letting go of unrealistic goals, plans, and expectations, you will be much more likely to have long term success with your weight loss program!

For more weight loss help, sign up for my FREE eCourse, “40 Healthy Weight Loss Tips.”

The first time I ever saw a copy of Eat This Not That I was visiting my parent’s house.

There were two “Eat This Not That“  books on the coffee table: The Supermarket Survival Guide and The No Diet Weight-Loss Solution.

I picked up one of them, intending to just flip through and get a general idea of what it was all about, and I couldn’t put it down!  I kept reading parts aloud to other people who were in the house and saying, “Did you know this?” or “Can you believe that?”

As the weekend progressed I noticed that everyone who showed up had the same reaction.  They were completely hooked and had to keep reading just one more page….

The Eat This Not That books are written by David Zinczenko who is the editor-in-chief of “Men’s Health” and editorial director of “Women’s Health.”

The premise of this book series is that you don’t have to give up any particular food type in order to lose weight. The “secret” is in the choices you make.  The books are divided into chapters such as “Pantry Staples”, “The Freezer Section”, or “At Your Favorite Restaurants.”

The pages within the chapters are loaded with pictures of actual products and colorful graphics describing them in terms of calories, fat, sodium, and fiber per serving, plus other nutritional or just interesting information.  Each time you turn to the next page, the left hand page shows the “eat this” foods, the right hand page the “not that” foods.

For instance, Kellogg’s Smart Start cereal has 190 calories and 14 grams of sugars per 1 cup serving, compared to Cheerios with 100 calories and 1 gram of sugars per cup.

Or how about this – a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder contains 410 calories, 19 grams of fat, and 730 mg of sodium.  But their Premium Grilled Chicken Club has 570 calories, 21 grams of fat, and 1,720 mg of sodium!

Did you know that most restaurant wheat buns contain more fat and sodium than sourdough? Ok, I’ll stop!

Before I get distracted by any more food facts, let me just summarize by saying that the Eat This Not That books are over-the-top full of practical, useful information presented in an entertaining, easy to read format.  And their small size makes it easy to take them along to the store or restaurants.

I HIGHLY recommend that you buy Eat This, Not That. Once you get one, you’ll want the whole series!

Add these easy weight loss tips to your overall weight loss plan and reach your goal more quickly!

1. Weigh yourself every day. Keeping tabs on your progress helps keep you on track.  When you see the scale inching down, it motivates you to stick with your program.  Movement the other direction causes you to buckle down and work even harder.
2. Walk more. Park farther from your office or the store.  Walk around the block before you fix dinner.  These small amounts add up over the course of a day!
3. Eat hot soup before lunch or dinner. Hot soup cannot be eaten quickly so, by the time you finish the bowl, your brain has had time to signal you that you’re not so hungry any more.  Stay away from creamy soups!
4. Don’t drink high calorie beverages. Even though the calories may be the same, people seem to feel fuller after eating solid food.  If you have a high calorie drink before or with your meal, you’ll probably eat the same size meal as you would have without the drink.
5. Have a spicy appetizer. Eating a little something made with chili powder or peppers suppresses your appetite, resulting in you eating less during your meal.

Be sure to retweet these tips to your followers!