A new episode of A Mind For Fitness Podcast is now available. In this episode, I discuss going gluten free and one key aspect that is absolutely necessary in order to lose weight.
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Why You Shouldn’t Always Watch The Scale
Consulting the scale is an easy way to monitor your weight loss progress. You step on it and if you weigh less than the last time you stepped on the scale, then you have lost weight–right?
The truth is that this way of tracking your weight loss is great when you are first starting to get serious about your health. However, when you are working on the last few pounds of fat, the scale is not the ultimate indicator in how much fat you are losing. In fact, it can be deceptive.
So what are some reasons the scale can be deceptive? There are two main reasons that I will address in this blog. One is water weight and the other is muscle.
First off there is water retention. Simply put, this is when you store exes amounts of water in your cells. This can happen for a verity of reasons I will not go into here. While every body is different, the average amount of weight you can gain though water is about five pounds in a day. This means that you can gain or lose five pounds in one day as a result of retaining or releasing water.
Muscle is another major factor in why the scale can be deceptive. The reason for this is due to the fact that muscle weighs more than fat. One leader of fat weighs about 2 pounds while one leader of muscle weighs about 2 1/2 pounds. If you are lifting as a primary form of exercise the rise in weight on the scale is probably due to muscle gain.
It can be frustrating when you are faithful to your diet, and working out, but the scale moves up. Remember it is not weight that you are ultimately trying to lose but fat. Instead of relying on the scale take measurements. Another great way of tracking your progress is by clothing. Get some clothes that are tight and see if they loosen up.
So if you are sticking to your diet and working out, then don’t sweat it if the scale moves up a few pounds. It could very well be water weight or muscle gain.
Eating for Taste
A while back, I wrote a post on eating with your stomach. In that post, I talked about the importance of paying attention to how full you are while you are eating to avoid over consumption.
The way you monitor how full you are is by eating slowly. However, when you eat slowly there is also an added benefit–tasting your food. In other words, not only are you able to monitor how full you are, you also get to enjoy your food.
People are often supersized by how quickly they get full when they eat slowly and pay attention to their stomach. Likewise, it is shocking what you actually taste when you eat with the intention of enjoying your food.
What is the reason for the shock? It is due to the fact that often food you think you like turns out to taste gross.
When we eat too fast, not only do we overeat, but often times we only get the rush of salt and/or sugar (and other flavors) over our tongues. Because of this, we often do not recognize it when we do not like something.
This hit home for me some years ago when I decided to eat slowly and enjoy my food. At the time I was following the Paul McKenna diet. I went to one of my favorite restaurant and ordered the stake fries. But instead of gobbling them down I attempted to enjoy every bite. I did not succeed in that attempt. They were horrible. As a result, I have not eaten them since.
On the flip side, there are now many foods that I now enjoy that I did not before. For example, baby carrots are very sweet. By slowing down and enjoying the flavor, eating these items is a great way to curb your sweet tooth.
In closing, I encourage the reader to try it for themselves. You will be supersized and what you do and do not like.
What’s The Difference Between Paleo, Keto, and Low Carb Diets
Hey everyone. This is a new episode of A Mind For Fitness Podcast. In this episode I talk about the difference between the Paleo, Keto, and Lowcarb diets. I hope you listen and enjoy.
The Ethics of Ordering Vegan
Think that ordering the vegan dish is helping save the animals? Think again. You will be surprised at how many animals are killed in order to clear the land to grow all those veggies.
I do not normally share articles written by others. But, this is just too good. Enjoy!
http://theconversation.com/ordering-the-vegetarian-meal-theres-more-animal-blood-on-your-hands-4659
You Had Me At, “Carb Cycle.”
As many of you know, either though knowing me personally, reading my blog, or listening to my podcast, I have struggled to lose this last 4-10 pounds for a while. In an endeavor to trick my body to losing weight again, I have picked up Chris Powell’s book: Choose to Lose, The 7 Day Carb Cycle Solution. I just finished the book yesterday and plan to take the next 2 weeks to try his method.
Also, in the near future I plan on writing a book review and let everyone know my results and what I think about this weight loss plan.
Keep checking in for updates.
7 Signs You Are a Gym D-Bag (podcast)
Are you a total Gym D-bag? Find out the seven sins d-bags commit and why it annoys people on this episode of A Mind For Fitness
Carbs for Skinny People
We all know naturally thin people. You know, the kind of person who can eat anything they want and it does not effect their weight in the slightest. I have had many friends like this. While I was trying my hardest to lose weight by staying away from high-carb food, thinner friends would gorge themselves on things like pizza and ice cream.
However, there is some bad news for naturally thin people. While they may not be gaining weight form eating high-carb food, they are still damaging their bodies. Or to put another way: Carbs are not good for skinny people either.
The truth is being overweight is just one sign that you are unhealthy. Skinny people who eat poorly can and more than likely will still suffer from things like high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and a whole host of other problems.
Also, later in life, naturally thin people will get fatter. They may never look like those people you see on weight loss TV shows. However, we have all run into thin people with a big pot belly. How did that happen? Too many carbs.
In summary, eating a low-carb diet is not just for overweight people. Healthy eating is for everyone. If you are a naturally thin person, do not fool yourself into thinking you can eat whatever you want. All those carbs will catch up to you eventually.
Home Gym VS. Traditional Gym (podcast)
In this episode of A Mind For Fitness Podcast, I take on the issue of which is better, the home gym or a traditional gym. Also, when is it right to snack and more.
To Snack Or Not To Snack
Recently, a friend of mine asked my advice on picking out some healthy snacks. This question caused me to contemplate whether snacking was good or bad in general. I have come to these three conclusions. Hope this helps you make great decisions for your health.
Snacking is OK when a person firsts starts a low-carb diet.
It is a major improvement when someone stops eating the standard American diet. Generally, those first 20 to 50 pounds come off quite quickly. Because of this, snacking is for the most part fine. Just as long as they do not exceed 35 carbs a day.
Another good reason for snacking during this time is to avoid starvation mode. This is when a person restricts their nutritional intake too dramatically. As a result, the body holds onto fat reserves rather than releasing them. Snacking is a great way to avoid this state.
You may need to stop snacking if you have hit a plateau.
Everyone who is trying to lose a significant amount of weight will eventually plateau. There are many things that you can do to re-start your metabolism. One of those things is to stop snacking.
Please do not misunderstand me at this point. A person should still eat if they are hungry. If you are hungry between meals and desire a snack, then by all means eat something. However, you should only eat when you are hungry. Or to put it another way, if you are not hungry do not eat. Even low-carb snacks are not good during this process.
As a side note, if you feel compelled to eat when you are not hungry, this is a good time to find out why. For many, eating when one is not hungry is a way to fill a void in ones life. Personally speaking, I use to snack because I was bored. It was not food that I needed but excitement. Next time you are tempted to eat when you are not hungry, ask your self, “what void am I trying to fill”?
Snacking can be OK if you are in maintenance.
If you have already reached your goal weight, snacking can be fine. Just as long as you carefully monitor your weight. It would be a sad event if you gained back the weight you worked so hard to lose. But generally speaking, after you have reached your weight loss goals, you have much more liberty to eat when you want. This is due to the fact that your body is now a fat burning machine.
Advanced Weight Loss Resources 