YOU CAN LOSE WEIGHT ( Part 1 )

Calories, like debts, are no mystery; put in less than you spend and you will lose. By consistently making the right food choices and keeping up with your exercise regimen, it is in your power to lose weight and keep it off. Eat less and exercise more. That’s it; no secrets, no miracles; just a commitment to yourself every day.

It can’t be said enough – DIETS DON’T WORK. I give none of my clients diets. Instead, I educate them about food and help them make different choices. Everyone is different and everyone has different triggers and food traps. I believe in a healthy lifestyle that is created to suit individual needs.
Why is it that when we are sick, we will do anything to get ourselves feeling better – medicine, missing work, even surgery? But as soon as we’ve recovered we don’t devote the same energy to staying better. It’s the same with eating healthy; we’ll do anything to lose weight but once it’s off we don’t work as hard to keep it off. Only when you change the way you think about food, will you change your perspective and learn how to focus on staying healthy for life.

Four important principles of weight loss for life

PRINCIPLE NO.1: Establish healthy eating habits (this is key) as opposed to adopting a strict diet that is all about deprivation.
TIP: We are all born with a natural ability to listen to our hunger cues. Babies know when they are full and when to stop eating. As we get older we stop listening to these cues and instead of stopping when we are full we have a tendency to finish what’s in front of us. Re-learn listening to your body and tune in to your natural hunger cues.

PRINCIPLE NO.2: Thinking about healthy eating and exercising isn’t the same as actually doing it. I’ve heard so many people say “this doesn’t work for me, it’s not in my genes, I work out and eat right and nothing…”. Be careful not to fall into this trap. Be aware of your habits and your behavior. What are you really eating for breakfast, lunch and supper? What about the snacks in between? How much are you eating? How much and how often are you exercising?

TIP: The human body can easily consume 1000 calories in just minutes. To burn the equivalent number of calories will take over an hour of strenuous exercise. Don’t use working out as an excuse to overeat.

PRINCIPLE NO 3: If you feel like you’ve made a poor choice or slipped up a bit, remind yourself of your end goal and that one slip up is not the end of the world. Don’t use mistakes to lose control; learn from them and move forward.

PRINCIPLE NO. 4: We are programmed from childhood to use food as an emotional crutch. By recognising that emotional eating only compounds our problems we are able to break the cycle and move toward positive lifestyle changes.

TIP: No matter how much money you make, if you spend more than you make you will never have money. The same goes for healthy eating and exercise. If you burn 1000 calories a day through exercise but overcompensate and eat an additional 2000 calories a day, do you think you will lose weight and be healthy?

Tips to Help You Lose Weight and Keep It Off!

Don’t Eat Before You Go To Bed: The calories (fuel) that you consume before you fall asleep won’t get a chance to burn off and will be stored in your body as fat.

Look For the Words “Grilled”, “Poached” and “Roasted”: These words on any menu will help to ensure that you’re not going to get a lot of heavy, calorie laden food on your plate.

Stay Away from Creamy Food: Sauces, soups and salad dressings made with cream are much more fattening and more dangerous for and to your heart than their vinaigrette, tomato or broth based counterparts.

Say No to Fried Foods: Your heart will thank you. Deep fried foods not only mean extra calories but also a lot of additional saturated and trans fats which are bad for your cholesterol and can cause heart disease.

Wipe Out White: White rice, white sugar, white flour pasta, white bread… the list is endless. Replace these do – nothing carbs with brown rice, brown sugar, whole grain pasta, whole grain bread and organic brown sugar or honey. Please keep in mind that NO sugar is option 1 :).

Eat Breakfast: Start your day with whole grain cereal or oatmeal. People who eat breakfast are far less likely to suffer from heart disease, obesity or diabetes. Fiber rich whole grain cereal will fill you up faster and you will eat less throughout the day.

Multivitamin Supplements: If you want the assurance that you’re getting all the vitamins and minerals your body needs a multivitamin is a great compliment to a healthy balanced diet. Always talk to your doctor about which supplements are appropriate for you.

Freeze Grapes or Bananas: Much on these for snacks.

Order Salad Dressing on the Side: Always ask for your salad dressing on the side and then use your fork to add the minimum amount to your salad in order to make it taste good.

Don’t Buy Foods That Tempt You and Never Go Shopping on an Empty Stomach: Keep cookies, ships and ice cream out of the house! Enjoy your treats when you are out and about only.

Limit the Amount of Diet Soda You Drink: Notwithstanding the words “Diet” or “Sugar Free” on the labeling, you know it’s unhealthy! Did you know that it can stimulate your appetite too? I bet you didn’t. I study found that 41% of people who drink diet soda are more likely to be obese. If you crave the sparkle, indulge yourself to curb your cravings BUT always remember…. everything in moderation!

When it comes to maintaining a healthy diet and losing excess weight, there are four main things to keep in mind – calories, carbs, fats and proteins. You probably hear these words a lot but there is a lot of mystery surrounding them so it is important to understand exactly what each of those words mean in the context of weight loss. In my next article Break it down, build yourself up I will discuss what each of these words mean and tell you how you can use them to best advantage everyday and for the rest of your life.

Yours in training
Nicholas Caracandas.