To Date I've Lost 27 lbs

I've been working on this for a long-time. I wanted to help/inspire others

MY ADVISE:

1. Be "active" most days of the week. Even if it's a simple 30 minute walk.

2. A consistent exercise program will help condition you for a healthy life, and make your body build muscle, and efficiently burn fat.

3. Eating a healthy mix of complex carbohydrates, fruit, veggies, lean proteins, and healthy fats fuel the healthy body that you are working to achieve.

4. The key is not a diet, but a lifestyle change of how I eat. It's meant to be a work in progress towards the goal of healthy eating for a lifetime.

5. Breakfast IS the most important meal of the day. You need to eat breakfast to kick start your metabolism from the night of fasting.

6. It's better to eat smaller meals more frequently throughout the day instead of the traditional big 3 (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). A body is fueled better by eating more frequently.

7. Don't eat more than 3 carbohydrates at one time (body uses it's food fuel more efficiently if you don't over do too many carbohydrates at one time.

8. Mix up your exercise routine. Body's get bored and sometimes we hit a plateau.

9. Consider adding weight training or resistance exercise to your exercise routine to build muscle, and strengthen.

-Two or three days on (exercise) and one day off (exercise) allows the body to rest.

-Alternate exercise routine (one day do cardiovascular, the next day do weight resistance/conditioning.

By changing the way I eat carbs AND my 6 days a week workout, I finally started to lose weight (6 pounds my first two weeks). I also started weight training a year ago, and now I do weight or resistance training 2-3 days a week, along with core conditioning, floor barre, ballet, and Pilates etc.

Nutrition
The food deal is 10 carbs spread throughout the day. Carbs come from starch, fruit, milk:
NOTE: I was not getting enough protein so I added a whey protein shake to my breakfast everyday and an additional protein shake within 30 minutes of completing weight training. You NEED lean protein to build muscle and loss weight!

(6) starch, (2) fruit, (2) milk, (6) veg, (6) meat, (5) fat

Starches for me are:
1 slice high fiber toast
1/3 cup of cooked oatmeal, rice, or pasta
3 cups of hot air popcorn

Fruit for me are:
1 cup of fresh berries (in my oatmeal)
1 5" banana OR
fruit in my light yogurt

Milk for me are:
8 oz. fat free milk
1 lighted fruit yogurt (counts as a fruit too)

Veggies for me are:
1/2 cup of any green vegetable
4 oz. V8 juice

Meats for me are:
1 oz. of lean meat (chicken)
soyburger = 2.5 servings of meat.
1 oz. of hard cheese (counts as a fat too)

NOTE: chicken breast size of deck of cards (3 oz.) would count as 3 meat servings. Rule of thumb for meat. 7 grams of protein is one serving.

Fat for me are:
fat in cheese (if I have it that day)

1 tblsp. oil for cooking or popcorn counts as a fat.

A glass of wine or champagne (5 oz.) counts as 1 starch and 2 fats.

1 carbohydrate choice provides 15 grams of total carbohydrate. The new just revised rule of thumb for fiber is, if the fiber is 5 or more grams, subtract 1/2 the fiber from the total grams of carbohydrate for a more accurate carb count.

EIGHT FOOD STRATEGIES to LOSE WEIGHT

When it comes to losing weight, the following eight food strategies have helped thousands of my personal clients achieve their goals. Go ahead and give them a shot!

Fiber -- Both types of fiber, insoluble and soluble can help your weight loss efforts.

Insoluble fiber provides volume to food without adding a lot of calories. Foods rich in insoluble fiber include high fiber cereal, whole wheat bread, wheat bran, fruits and vegetables.

Soluble fiber helps stabilize your blood sugar levels, which in turn can better control hunger and cravings. Also, this type of fiber slows down the transit time of food in your gut, so it may keep you fuller for longer. Foods rich in soluble fiber include strawberries, apples, pears, oatmeal, chickpeas, and beans.

Juicy Foods -- Fruits and veggies with a high water content "built into the food" helps to fill you up, so you'll eat less collectively throughout the day. Go for watermelon, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, mushrooms, grapefruit, and cantaloupe.

Lean Protein -- Protein can slightly rev your metabolism after ingestion (more so than carbs and fat). Be sure to include some type of lean protein with every meal. Good sources include chicken breast, canned light tuna, wild salmon (fresh and canned), egg whites, crab, shrimp, tilapia, turkey breast, tofu, lean red meat, low-fat dairy, beans and lentils.

Foods That Make You Work -- People eat less of the very same foods when they require a bit of work. For example, buy shelled peanuts versus unshelled peanuts and prepare soybeans in the pod versus the straight bean.

Sugarless Gum -- Contrary to what people think, sugarless gum does not stimulate your appetite. In fact, it's a great way to give your taste buds a shot of flavor and prevent yourself from popping something caloric in your mouth. Keep a pack of sugarless gum on hand (or a pack of mints).

Hot Beverages -- Sipping a hot, low-cal beverage is a great way to stave off extra calories when you're looking to eat out of pure boredom. And because they're hot, you'll have to slowly sip over an extended period of time. Choose beverages under 100-calories such as green and herbal teas, diet hot cocoa, skim latte and cappuccino, and reduced sodium bouillon.

Spicy Food and Capsaicin -- Personal clients and research have reported that you're often satisfied with less food when the meal is spicy hot. Plus, you automatically eat slower and drink more water! If your taste buds can handle the heat, add chili peppers, hot sauce and salsa to your meals.

Pre-portioned Snacks -- There's no chance of overeating when you only have one portion in front of you. Try the following legalized snacks when you want something fun: 100-Calorie Pack, Glenny's soy crisps, Skinny Cow-Silhouette flying saucer, Healthy Pop mini bag microwave popcorn, Nature Valley granola bar, Pria bar, People Pop, Tootsie Pop, Weight Watchers ice cream pops, or a Swiss Miss/Jell-O fat free pudding.

Outwit Your Appetite (Excerpt from RealAge)

1. Protein for breakfast - You'll be less hungry later on and end up eating fewer calories during the day.

2. Make it climb a flight of stairs. At home, store the foods that tempt you most way out of reach. Half the time you'll be too lazy to run down to get it

3. Sleep on it. People who don't get their eight hours of sleep experience hormonal fluctuations that increase appetite.

4. Give it something else to think about. Smell something pleasant instead of eating that bad item. Scientists scanned the brains of people eating different foods. Brain reacts to fat in the mouth in much the same way that the nose responds to a pleasant aroma.

5. No heaping plate. Practice portion control. Only put on your plate what you should eat for that meal. It's better to eat 5 or 6 smaller meals than 3 big meals.

6. Eat in a well lite setting. You consume fewer calories at a well-lit area than in a dark corner. .

7. Talk while you eat. If you talk while you eat, you might eat less.

9. Soup. Start lunch with vegetable soup and you'll eat fewer calories during lunch overall.

10. Give it little choice. Packages that contain assorted varieties to eat at one time help you eat less because you're getting a variety of tastes.

Exercise
My formula is 3 days a week INTENSE aerobic exercise for 60 minutes (30 minutes on two different pieces of equipment or dance). The alternate days I do a 15 minute warmup on the treadmill (or give myself a full barre) and then I do my weight/resistance training. [You can also throw in a LOT of core conditioning, Pilates, ball work etc.]

BALLET, Pilates, Workout Videos and Movement in General

Although you can't learn ballet by a video, there are lots of DVDs that have very good exercises to help from a ballet principle. I own both New York City Ballet Workouts I & II. I also recommend Pilates. If you can enroll in a Pilate class, it will help you tremendously. Pilates strengths the core (trunk) of your body which supports everything, and improves posture. You will build strength and muscle. I KNOW how frustrating it is...believe me. I still have my flabby tummy and it's taking forever to reduce it.

Remember it took time to gain weight/get out of shape, so it will take time to get back into shape too. It's also fun to just dance around the house to your favorite music. Whatever movement that you love. The idea is to move. When I ache and can't go to ballet or the gym, I just dance to music in my house for a sustained 30 minutes.

I wear a pulse watch and monitor strap (around my rib area under the breasts) to monitor my heart rate for my entire exercise. I do that to make sure that I stay within my heart rate. For me, my fat burning rate is about 114 and my cardio rate is about 138. However, I'm guilty of being an exercise Nazi and I get bored at the low numbers, so I exercise between 120's and 140's.

I can't do any of 'The Firm' videos because they strain my knees. Any workout with the balance ball is good too. Also, get some free weights and resistance bands. You can do free weights and resistance bands at night while you watch TV.

As we get older, we have to work out longer to see results. You'll want to build up to 40-60 minutes of cardio 3 times a week, in conjunction with healthy eating. Watch portion control. I eat only ½ cup of carb at a time (10 a day is my limit) and they come from: 6 starches (non-white), 2 fruit, and 2 milk (low fat).

Consider seeing a nutritionist too. I saw one and learned that I was not getting enough calories, protein (vegetarian) or healthy fat in my diet. Contrary to popular belief, you have to eat a certain amount of calories in order to lose weight. The body's metabolism slows down and goes into starving mode if it thinks you're not feeding it enough.

Lots of us have jobs where we sit:

1. If you're on a head set, can you walk around your cubicle while you're on the phone?

2. Do you go for a brisk walk on your lunch hour?

3. Take the stairs instead of the elevator EVERY time?

Exercise at home will take away the excuse of inconvenience. You just need to find the exercise at home that you like to do (see my suggestions above). If you have stairs in your home (I have 4 floors in mine...) I go up and down the stairs all the time for necessity and exercise. I run up and down the stairs and I'm never out of breath because of my excellent conditioning. It was NOT always that easy to do stairs.

I'm moving next week, but I hope to someday make a list of all of my exercise DVDs with comments to post here.

TOP AB EXERCISES

-for your rectus abdominus (the long, flat set of muscles that stretch across the front of the abdomen) are:

1 - Bicycle Crunch

2 - Captain's Chair (a.k.a. Hanging Leg Raises)*

3 - Swiss Ball Crunch

4 - Vertical Leg Crunch

-for your obliques (the long, flat muscles extending along the sides of the abdomen at an angle) are:

1 - Captain's Chair (a.k.a. Hanging Leg Raises)*

2 - Bicycle Crunch

3 - Reverse Crunch

4 - Plank (hover) Exercise

*requires a piece of equipment

Bicycle Crunch Exercise.
Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground. Put your hands beside your head. Bring your knees up to about a 45-degree angle and slowly go through a bicycle pedal motion. Touch your left elbow to your right knee, then your right elbow to your left knee. Breath evenly throughout the exercise.

Captain's Chair Exercise.
This was one of the few on the "most effective" list that involves gym equipment. Start with legs dangling and slowly lift your knees in toward your chest. The motion should be controlled and deliberate as you bring your knees up and return them back to the starting position.

Crunch on an Exercise Ball
Sit on the exercise ball with your feet flat on the floor. Let the ball roll back slowly and lie back until your thighs and torso are parallel with the floor. Contract your abdominals raising your torso to no more than 45 degrees. To work the oblique muscles, make the exercise less stable by moving your feet closer together.

Nature's Fat-Burning Breakthrough Courtesy of Prevention

Potatoes get a bad rap as little more than a waist-thickening waste of calories. But amazing new research puts spuds squarely at the center of the latest weight loss buzz, along with other unfairly maligned carbs such as corn and rice. The reason: All these foods contain resistant starch, a unique kind of fiber you'll be hearing a lot more about. In fact, experts agree that it's one of the most exciting nutrition breakthroughs they've seen in years. "Resistant starch has the potential to become the next hot nutrition trend," says Leslie Bonci, RD, author of the American Dietetic Association's Guide to Better Digestion. Indeed, more than 160 studies have examined this little known nutrient's remarkable health and weight loss benefits.

Resistant Starch: The New Power Nutrient

Although this may be the first you've heard of resistant starch, it's likely been a part of your diet most of your life. Resistant starch is a type of dietary fiber naturally found in many carbohydrate-rich foods such as potatoes, grains, and beans, particularly when these foods are cooled. It gets its name because it "resists" digestion in the body, and though this is true of many types of fiber, what makes resistant starch so special is the powerful impact it has on weight loss and overall health. As a dieter's tool it can't be beat: Not only does it increase your body's ability to burn fat, but it also fills you up and reduces overall hunger.

Hot for Potatoes?

Its health benefits are truly impressive as well. Studies show it improves blood sugar control, boosts immunity, and may even reduce your cancer risk.

Resistant starch is bulky, so it takes up space in your digestive system. And because you can't digest or absorb it, the starch never enters your bloodstream. That means it bypasses the fate of most carbohydrates, which get socked away as body fat when you eat more than you can burn. Here are two more key ways resistant starch can help you drop unwanted pounds:

It ups your calorie burn. Unlike some types of fiber, resistant starch gets fermented when it reaches the large intestine. This process creates beneficial fatty acids, including one called butyrate, which may block the body's ability to burn carbohydrates. "This can prevent the liver from using carbs as fuel and, instead, stored body fat and recently consumed fat are burned," explains Janine Higgins, PhD, nutrition research director for the University of Colorado's Adult and Pediatric General Clinical Research Center. In your body, carbohydrates are the preferred source of fuel, like gasoline that powers your car's engine. Butyrate essentially prevents some of the gas from getting into the tank, and your cells turn to fat as an alternative. One study found that replacing just 5.4% of total carbohydrate intake with resistant starch created a 20 to 30% increase in fat burning after a meal.

It shuts down hunger hormones. Animal studies have found that resistant starch prompts the body to pump out more satiety-inducing hormones. A meal with resistant starch triggers a hormonal response to shut off hunger, so you eat less. Research shows that you don't reap this benefit from other sources of fiber.

Fighting Disease, One Potato at a Time

The research on resistant starch doesn't stop at weight loss. This powerful nutrient is also earning accolades as a major disease fighter from standard bearers such as the World Health Organization. Here's why scientists around the globe are so excited about its health benefits:

It can prevent cancer. Research shows that the butyrate created by resistant starch may protect the lining of the colon, making it less vulnerable to the DNA damage that triggers diseases, such as colon cancer. It can also create a pH drop inside the colon, which boosts the absorption of calcium and blocks the absorption of cancer-causing substances.

It may fight diabetes and heart disease. Like other fibers, resistant starch helps control blood sugar levels. "Because it skips routine digestion, we see lower blood sugar and insulin levels following a resistant starch-rich meal," says Christine Gerbstadt, MD, RD, CDE, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Blood sugar control translates into more energy and sustained energy. It also means long-term heart protection, because chronic high levels of blood sugar and insulin cause delicate arteries to become clogged and harden.

It boosts your immune system. "When you have low levels of good-for-you bacteria in your digestive system, it's very difficult to fight off disease," says Joanne Slavin, PhD, RD, a nutrition professor at the University of Minnesota. Resistant starch may boost the growth of probiotics, the same kind of healthy bacteria found in yogurt that keep bad bacteria in check.

How to Eat Enough

Right now, there is no specific target for resistant starch intake. But preliminary data shows that the average American woman consumes about 4 g of resistant starch each day. Experts such as Gerbstadt believe the research is strong enough to advocate doubling that.

Adding just 1/2 to 1 cup of cooled resistant starch-rich food per day can do the trick. See "6 Best Fat-Burning Foods" below for ideas, and follow this advice to maximize your intake.

Keep it cool. In cooked starchy foods, resistant starch is created during cooling. Cooking triggers starch to absorb water and swell, and as it slowly cools, portions of the starch become crystallized into the form that resists digestion. Cooling either at room temperature or in the refrigerator will raise resistant starch levels. Just don't reheat. That breaks up the crystals, causing resistant starch levels to plummet.

Tags: food, nutrition, exercise, health

Add A Comment