There is a new episode of A Mind For Fitness Podcast. In this episode, Ean Talks about why it is more important to count carbs rather than calories. Also, what is a calorie and how you can avoid overeating. Enjoy!
Monthly Archives: January 2016
What Not To Do About Your Weight-Loss Plateau
In the previous blog post I talked about why we hit plateaus in our weight loss. In that blog, I talked about the two main causes. The first was not appropriately sticking to your diet. And the second reason simply has to do with the fact that our body likes to adjust to what we are doing. In this post, I want to address what not to do when you stop losing weight.
Two Big Don’ts
In my experience, I see two major mistakes people make when they hit their plateau. The first is psychological, namely discouragement. The second mistake is attempting is to be supper strict with your diet or workout plan.
Discouragement
It is easy to get discouraged when you hit a plateau. Particularly when you are doing everything right. But the truth is stalling out in your weight-loss is, as far as I can tell, universal. It does not matter how good the diet is, or how strictly you are following it, at some point it will stop working. And by stop working, I mean that your weight-loss will either slow down or stop altogether. I do not mean that your plan will stop being healthy, rather what I mean is that your body will adjust and you will stop losing weight.
In light of this, there is no reason to get discouraged. Like I mentioned above, stalling out is universal. We all go though it.
Also, discouragement does not help. In fact, It leads to self destructive behavior. Those who stay discouraged for too long eventually fall back into old habits and gain back all the weight that they have lost. This is a story I have seen and heard too many times to recount. Don’t get discouraged. There are things you can do to get off of your plateau.
Super Strict
If the cause of your plateau is that you have not been following the diet correctly, then being more strict is the answer. However, like I wrote in the last post, even those who do a low-carb, paleo, ketogenic diet correctly, will still stall out. It’s easy to think that you just have not done the diet correctly enough. It’s easy to think that all you need to do is dial it down more on how many carbs you eat. As a result of this kind of thinking I see many people eating nearly no carbs at all. This is a big mistake.
Going supper strict is not the answer to your problems. In fact, you are just setting yourself up to prolong your plateau and more discouragement.
So now we know what not to do. This leads us then to ask: What can I do to re-start my fat-burning hormones? This will be the subject of our next blog.
Why We Hit Plateaus In Weight Loss
I recently did a podcast where I addressed the issue of hitting plateaus in weight loss. I talked about why we hit them and what we can do to get past them. This blog post will address the first half of the issue. Namely, why we hit them. In the next post, I will talk about what not to do and why. After that, I will talk about the active things you can do to get past them and get back on the road to burning fat.
Two Main Causes
The truth is there is only two reasons why your weight loss progress stops. The first is you are just not sticking to your diet correctly. The second is your body has simply adjusted to your dietary and/or workout regiment.
Not Sticking To Your Diet
Sometimes your not sticking to your diet simply because you are cheating too often. If this is the case, the truth is you need to do the diet correctly.
However, there are times when you really think you are sticking to your diet, but in reality you are unknowingly are consuming too many carbs and too many processed foods. For example that salad you had for lunch may have had many more carbs than you thought.
On one occasion I was happily eating a salad when I noticed that it was slightly sweeter than I thought it should be. The reason for this is that there were craisins in the salad. When I finally looked up the carb count in craisins, I realized that my salad contained my daily allotment of carbs. I was shocked.
If this kind of thing happens too often, you will certainly stop losing weight.
Body Adjustment
However, for many, you are sticking to your diet and you have still hit a plateau. The reason for this is that your body has adjusted to your diet and/or workout plan. One thing to keep in mind is that your body is always looking to establish an equal balance within itself. Losing wight is an imbalance within the body. And an imbalance is a shock and perceived as a treat to survival. Even though there are great benefits to losing excess fat, your body is still seeking to establish equilibrium as a survival tool.
Next Post
So there are your two reasons why you will stop losing weight. The next post will deal with what not to do about it.
If you liked this, please share this post on your favorite social media.
Getting Past Your Plateau (Podcast)
A new episode of A Mind For Fitness Podcast is now available. In this episode, Ean talks about why we hit plateaus. And what we should and should not do about it. Enjoy!
Dealing With Resoltioners (Audio)
In this episode of A Mind For Fitness Podcast, Ean Carlin talks about how to deal with those new years resolutioners who are at your gym.
Dealing With Resolutionars at the Gym
Yes it is that time of year again. It is that time when everyone is trying to get into shape and make all kinds of goals regarding health and weight loss. For many, one of those goals is to hit the gym and hit it hard! What this means is that the gym will be swarming with new people. For us long times, us people who already go to the gym on a consistent basis we, we call these new people “resolutionars”! And they can be annoying at the least and completely your workout at worst.
Don’t Be A Hater
Dealing with resolutionars can be bothersome. Often they are in the way and many of them don’t seem to understand proper gym etiquette.
That said, don’t be a hater. Keep in mind the fact that these people are just trying to better themselves by improving their health. This type of behavior should be encouraged.
In practical terms, smile at the new people instead of glaring at them hatefully. Introduce your self. Let them know that you have been coming to this gym for a long time and tell them everything you like about the place. Just think: it may be your kind words that makes a resolutionar a regular.
Don’t Worry
Next thing to do is not worry about all the new people. Statistics show that 95% of people who make resolutions for the new year will break those commitments by January 15th. Just wait it out a week or two and those who are not serious will be gone and out of your way. And if you followed the above recommendation, those who decided to really make a commitment, will now be your friends.
Take Time Off
If you really just cannot handle being around resolutionars, then one of the best things you can do is to take some time off. I know for us regulars, taking time off is difficult. We love working out and we love going to the gym. However, most workout regiments require taking time off. And if you are anything like me, you workout hard during the holidays and could use a break. Remember, for optimal health, recovery is just as important as working out.
Home Gym
So maybe you did take the holidays off and you need to workout. The home gym is always an option. You may not have every piece of equipment they have at a traditional gym, but you can do push ups, squats, lunges, and all sorts of things that will keep you in good health.
Go in The Morning
If you just cannot stay away from the gym, then your best bet is to go in the morning. This will not keep you from resolutionars altogether, but it will minimize your encounters with them. Generally speaking, most of them are not dedicated enough to go in the morning. And those who are willing to make the commitment to go in the morning are more likely to become regulars.
Switch Your Routine
The last thing you can do is to change your routine. Instead of doing chest on Monday, do biceps. Or simply do what is available. Make the best of what you have and do what you can do. This will always make a great workout.
P. S.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this article. I hope it helped you. If it did, please do me the favor of sharing it on your favorite social media. Have a great new year!
5 Easy Ways to Lose Weight For the New Year (Audio)
A new episode of A Mind For Fitness Podcast is now available! In this episode, Ean talks about five ways to lose weight for the new year and the new you!
5 Easy Ways to Lose Weight For the New Year
Did you resolve to lose weight for the new year? Great! Here are five easy ways to lose weight for the new year and the new you!
Eat Clean
One of the reason people are overweight has to do with how much toxins are in our food. Part of the body’s natural protection is to store those unwanted toxins in our fat cells, particularly in our belly fat. Switching to organic food (and any food without toxins) will shut down the need for the body to hold onto extra fat. As a result, excess weight will come off.
Save Your Carbs For Dinner
Your body is naturally more insulin sensitive in the evening. This means that it takes less of the hormone insulin to get the excess sugar out of your blood. Less insulin means less fat storage.
Now this is not an excuse to eat all the carbs you want as long as it is night. Ideally it is best to keep your carb count to 25 grams at the low end and 50 at the high end. And it is best to spread them out over two meals. However, the majority of those carbs should come at night. Controlling how much carbs you eat is a great way to lose weight. But controlling when you eat those carbs also matters a great deal!
Skip Breakfast
I know that we have all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day; however, this is simply not true. While I do not have the time here to go into all the benefits of intermittent fasting, let me say that it has done wonders for weight loss. In short, your body has gone through all its blood sugar while you sleep and you start burning fat for fuel the first half of the day.
All you have to do to make this work is finish eating dinner by seven or eight the night before. Then skip breakfast. After that, eat lunch around 12:30 or 1:00. It’s really that easy!
Walk After Meals
Now you may not be able to walk after lunch because, lets face it, most of us have to get back to work. However, walking after dinner should not be a problem for most. Walking after meals lowers your blood sugar without a large amount of unnecessary insulin. In other words, it is a natural way to help you become more insulin sensitive.
Eat Slowly
Weight management is not simply a matter of calories in and calories out. In fact, it is more important to track your carb intake and your chemical intake than it is to track your overall calorie intake.
That said, it is still not good to overeat. It’s not good hormonally and it is not good for digestion–two key factors in weight management. In addition, if you eat less and you are eating the right types of food you will see weight loss.
So how do you eat less food without feeling like you are hungry? The answer is to eat slowly. This is a technique that I have used often and it works great.
Often we overeat because we eat too fast. The food is already in our stomach and we are back for seconds before the brain can tell us that we have had enough. By the time the satiety signal hits us, we have overeaten.
By eating slowly you allow your brain to tell your body that you are full before you overeat. You can still eat until you are full. You do not have to be hungry. It is just that you feel full on much less.
Closing Thoughts
Any one of the above suggestions will most likely help in losing weight. However, if you are serious about dropping those unwanted pounds, then do all of these together and you will get the best results. Best wishes for you in this new year!
And please don’t forget to like, comment, and share.
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