Tag Archives: dieting

I’ts Not My Fault

February 5, 2015UncategorizedBuilding, coaching, diet, dieting, exercise, Fitness, food, health, healthy eating, Keto, Ketogenic, Low Carb, NLP for weight loss, success, workoutadvancedweightlossresources

Many people fail to lose weight because they simply will not take personal responsibility for their obesity. I do not speak to this issue as an outsider, but as one who use to blame my excess weight one everything and everyone other than myself; so there is not judgment in this assessment. However, the assessment still stands: Many people are overweight because they will not take responsibility for their obesity.

Of course, I remember the excuses I made for my weight. But since I have become a weight-loss coach, I have more clearly taken note of these excuses when I hear them from others. Here are two that I hear most often:

It Was The Way I Was Raised

It’s doubtful that any of us were raised in a home where we were fed a low -carbohydrate, natural source, ketogenic diet. Most of us were raised to believe that a healthy diet consisted of low fat and lots grains. To complicate things, many of us were raised with a dysfunctional relationship with food.

This was true in my upbringing. Food meant excitement! This was particularly true of bad food. I was raided by a single mother and (most) every night we went out to eat. So for me, bad food was adventurous. As a result, I have had to overcome a tight neuro-association between bad food and feelings of adventure and excitement.

Others have been raised with food as a source of comfort. If you are feeling bad, eat something sweet and you will feel better.

Still for others, food was used as reward. You were good, you get something sweet; you were bad, you missed dessert.

I’m Genetically Predisposed to Be Fat

Another excuse is to blame genetics. Some will blame their obesity on the fact that they are big boned, or they have a slow metabolism, or that obesity runes in their family.

Again, these are excuses I have used. As I have said before (either in this blog or in my podcasts), I have a body that easily puts on weight. I do not have a V shaped body, nor am I a bean-poll. My body is very round when out of shape and very square when I am in shape. Whether it is my metabolism or some other factor, I have to fight to stay fit.

Getting Beyond The Excuses

It may be true that you had an upbringing in which you developed a bad relationship with food. It may also be true that you have a genetic profile that makes easily gain weight. However, these are not good excuses.

In order to get to a healthy weight, one must take responsibility for the choices they make. Overcome your excesses and realize that you are the one who decides what you eat and whether or not you exercise is you.

Making a Decision for Your Health (Podcast)

February 4, 2015Ketogenic Diet, Low Carb Meals, NLP, Uncategorized, weight lossBio Hack, Building, coach, coaching, diet, dieting, food, health, healthy eating, Inches, inspiration, Keto, N. L. P., NLP, NLP for weight loss, paleo, psychological, shred, Supplement, take action, Weight Loss, workoutadvancedweightlossresources

A Mind For Fitness Podcast. In This episode, I talk about how to draw upon your past, present and future in order to make a decision for your health. I also talk about taking responsibility for your health. Please share on your favorite social media!

Getting Yourself Off Sugar The Right Way (Podcast)

January 27, 2015UncategorizedBio Hack, Building, coach, coaching, diet, dieting, exercise, Fitness, food, health, healthy eating, Inches, Ketogenic, lose weight, Mental Strength, Motivation, Muscle, NLP for weight loss, paleo, Weight Lossadvancedweightlossresources

A new episode of a Mind For Fitness Podcast is now available. In this episode, Ean discusses if it is best to get off of sugar by going cold turkey, or by decreasing gradually.

I Have to Take Off My Wedding Ring–Again!

January 22, 2015Low Carb Meals, NLP, weight lossBio Hack, Building, coach, coaching, diet, dieting, exercise, food, healthy eating, Inches, Keto, Ketogenic, Mental Strength, NLP for weight loss, Plateau, take action, Weight Lossadvancedweightlossresources

I was 21 years old when I first put on my wedding ring. It fit perfectly. it was not too tight nor too loose.

However, many years later (at the age of 37) I had to take off my ring. It was a sad day. My fingers wear so bloated that it was causing me pain. I had to face the truth, I was too fat to wear it. I reluctantly took it off and kept it in a box next to my bed.

But then came a happy day. Two and a half years later, I had lost enough weight to put my ring back on my finger. Not only was I happy, but my wife was happy too.

But now, I have to take my ring back off again. Not because I am too big, but because the ring is too big! I realized this when my ring slid off my finger while in the grocery store. I dove for it like it was the one ring to rule them all. I slipped back on my finger and noticed that my knuckle was barely big enough to keep it on.

What this means is that I am now skinnier than I was when I got married! I do not bring this up to brag, but I would be lying if I said I was not pleased to report it. However, I do mention this because it is a reminder that all my sacrifices and hard work is, in fact, paying off. I am very close to my weight-loss goals and want to encourage all of you to stay the course.

The ring will not stay off forever. I will get it re-sized. But it is nice that I have to get it taken in and not expanded.

Stay strong, my readers, and never give up!

Will I Get Fat Again?

January 16, 2015Low Carb Meals, NLP, weight losscoaching, diet, dieting, exercise, Fitness, Inches, lose weight, Motivation, Muscle, NLP for weight loss, Pounds, shred, Supplement, take action, Weight, Weight Loss, workoutadvancedweightlossresources

I ran across this old picture of myself. Upon looking at it, a fearful thought came to my mind–will I get fat again?

My whole life I have yo-yo dieted. I have had times that could be considered a successes in weight loss. That is to say, I would lose weight and sometimes a lot of weight. However, those successes were always short lived. I would eventually and inevitably regaining the weight I had lost plus a few more pounds.

What brings this up now is that this photo was taken at a time when I was loosing weight. But, like I said, the weight I lost was not permanent. This thought caused me to think about my current weight loss status. Or to put it another way, what makes me think I have lost the weight for good this time?

This is not the first time I have had this thought. During the first year of my serious weight-loss journey, I was constantly wondering how long I was really going work out and stay on the diet. But then the first year passed, and I continued to do well.

The second year was also stressful.But I was always asking myself: Was this going to be the year I gave it all up and went back to being overweight? But the second year passed and I did not go back to being overweight.

This third year has been less fearful. I have only worried about relapsing occasionally. And my thought is: A little fear is a good thing. It reminds me that I need to keep looking a head and that I can gain weight again if I do not keep myself in check. Seeing this picture did scare me. But that fear made me remember all the reasons I lost weight in the first place. Fear can be a good thing.

This is me looking a head

I Was A Teenage Sugar Addict

January 8, 2015UncategorizedBio Hack, Building, coach, diet, dieting, exercise, Fitness, food, healthy eating, inspiration, Keto, Ketogenic, Low Carb, Mental Strength, Motivation, Muscle, N. L. P., NLP, NLP for weight loss, paleo, Pounds, psychological, shred, success, take action, Weight Loss, workoutadvancedweightlossresources

I love sugar. In fact, some might consider me a recovering sugar addict. While I have overcome my addiction though mental effort and proper diet, I still have quite a sweet tooth.

Was I Really An Addict?

I’m not really sure I could classify myself as an “addict.” However, I did eat a lot of sugar. This consumption was particularly pronounced during my teenage and young adult years. While I do not know how much sugar I consumed on a daily basis, I have an interesting story from my past that will help illustrate just how much sugar I would use.

I think I was about thirteen years of age at the time. During this period of my life, I would often have two bowls of cereal for breakfast. One bowl would be a sugar cereal. Some thing like Captain Crunch or Cinnamon Toast Crunch. The other bowl would be a “non”-sugar choice. Something like Wheaties or Cheerios. I would add sugar to these latter choices because I just could stand the taste of them with just milk.

One morning I decided to eat the “non”-sugar cereal first. And of course I added my regular amount of sugar to the bowl. I ate the cereal and drank the milk. I was ready for my second bowl. It would be the sweet cereal this time. I did not need to add sugar because they were sweet enough on their own.

Upon taking my first bite, I realized that the milk was rotten! I had eaten an entire bowl of cereal and sour milk without even realizing it. How could I have not noticed? I had added so much sugar to my cereal that it covered the taste of rotten milk! That is a lot of sugar.

In a Better Place

Reflecting back on how much sugar I use to eat makes me appreciate how much healthier I am now. I still love the taste of sweet things. But now my cravings are under control and the future is looking good. I never want to go back to being a sugar addict.

Getting Yourself Motivated For the New Year

January 3, 2015UncategorizedBio Hack, diet, dieting, exercise, Fitness, food, healthy eating, Keto, Ketogenic, lose weight, Mental Strength, NLP for weight loss, paleo, Pounds, success, take action, Weight Loss, workoutadvancedweightlossresources

When it comes to weight loss and working out, different people are motivated by different things. For example, someone can sit and watch a documentary on weight loss (like My 500 Pound Life) and not be motivated to change their life at all. While others, cannot even sit still through such a show. When the documentary ends, the latter group will be motivated to take action and change the condition of their health.

Today’s blog is going to be somewhat autobiographical. While I cannot address what motivates everyone to take steps toward fitness, I can talk about one of the things that motivates me. The truth is there are lots of things that motivate me to strive toward fitness. Today, however, I am going to address just one–workout equipment!

What I Got for Christmas

This is particularly relevant to me because I just got a slue of equipment for Christmas. And none to soon at that. I have let the holidays get the better of me and have gained between 7 to 9 pounds. I am ready to get back to it! And now I am motivated as well.

I love receiving workout equipment and helps. I just get so excited over it. I am one of those people who have to tear into the stuff right away and start using it. This year I received (from my loving family) a ten-pound medicine ball,

lift grips for better push ups,

A DVD set on working out,

and…the mother of all…. a Weider Pro 6900 that does just about everything.

A Consideration For the Reader

I know what it takes to motivate me. One of those things is (as I have mentioned) new workout equipment. Knowing this about myself has helped me keep my weight and fitness in check. There have been several times when been less enthusiastic to work out or stay on a healthy eating plan. Picking up a $4 work out DVD has kicked my butt back into gear on several occasions. So my questions for the reader is this: What motivates you to take action? And how can you use that knowledge to take help yourself action today?

Cheating During the Holidays (Written)

December 16, 2014UncategorizedBio Hack, Building, coaching, diet, dieting, exercise, Fitness, healthy eating, Keto, Ketogenic, lose weight, Low Carb, N. L. P., NLP, NLP for weight loss, paleo, Weight Loss, workoutadvancedweightlossresources

On my podcast, A Mind For Fitness, I shard how to cheat during the holidays with minimal damage. I thought the information was important enough that I should share it in written form. I do this because I know not everyone will listen to the podcast and I would like to help people during this troublesome time of year.

So here it is: How to Cheat During the Holidays With Minimal Damage.

Make It a Cheat Day

The first way to cheat during the holidays is by coinciding your holiday feasts with a cheat day or meal. This is difficult for most because there is more than one opportunity to eat bad food during this time of year. For example, there is Christmas Eve and Christmas Day right together. In addition, there may be company and family parties not to mention New-Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. So I understand if having a cheat “day” is not realistic for most.

However, for some, only eating bad food for one or two days it is not impossible. There is a large segment of society who only celebrate Christmas Eve. Christmas Day is a normal work day. And the same goes for New-Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. If you can limit your cheating to those two days, then great. But it is understandable if you cannot.

Intermittent Fast

The next step is intermittent fasting. For example, I have a birthday for a family member, a company party, a Church party, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day all in the span of about ten days. In addition, there is also the New Year celebrations. What I have found to work is not eating until the party. So here’s how it will go: On the day of the first party, I will fast. I will not eat anything but coffee and water. Then I will break the fast at the party. The next day I will fast until the evening meal and eat sensibly. Then the day after that is the birthday party. I will fast on that day too and cheat that night at the party. Are you getting the picture? On the nights you cheat, fast the day before and the day after.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are a wash. I will cheat both those days, but again, I will fast on Christmas Eve until around 6 PM. The same can be said about New Year celebration.

Eat Something Good for You First.

All these parties I will be attending will have more than just junk food. There are always good options available. What I do is eat the good options first. And I try to eat as much of the good foods as I possibly can. So that by the time I get to the cookies, I cannot put as many of them away as I would have if all I ate was cookies. Again, the second key here is to eat the good stuff for you first. Then if you still want some junk food go a head.

Eat Slow

Finally, eat slow. Start eating slow with the good food and continue to eat slow with the bad food. Eating slowly causes your satiety signal to set in with less food. Put simply, you will not be able to eat as many of those cookies.

Work Out

Continue to work out and workout hard. I recommend a HIIT workout along with heavy weights. This is particularly helpful if you work out during your fasted state and before your big meals. This will clear your glycogen out and make prepare your muscles to soak up the glucose from your blood stream.

Results

I followed a very similar regiment last year and only gained four pounds which I lost (plus more) after the first of last year. The year before that, I did not gain any wight at all. And, again, I began to lose wight as soon as I went back to a strict low-carb diet. I am predicting the same thing will happen this year. I will keep you posted.

Cheating During the Holidays

December 12, 2014Uncategorizeddieting, exercise, Fitness, food, healthy eating, lose weight, Low Carb, Motivation, NLP for weight loss, psychological, shred, success, Weight Loss, workoutadvancedweightlossresources

A new episode of A Mind For Fitness Podcast is now up. In this episode, Ean Carlin gives you six ways to minimize the effects of all that cheating you are going to do!

Hey! I’m On a Diet!

December 2, 2014UncategorizedBuilding, dieting, exercise, Fitness, health, healthy eating, lose weight, Low Carb, Motivation, NLP, NLP for weight loss, take action, Weight Loss, workoutadvancedweightlossresources

Letting others know that you are attempting to change your eating habits can be challenging. This is particularly true for those who have extensively yo-yo dieted. Speaking from personal experience, I would often keep my diet a secret from my family and friends. Why? Because I did not want to publicly fail–again. It is embarrassing to let everyone know you are trying to lose weight only to have it not workout. However, letting people know you are changing your eating habits is a great technique that will help you make a permanent change. Here are two reason why:

Getting Help

If you do not let others know that you are on a diet, there is no way they can help you. In fact, not letting others know can lead to some unavoidable compromises. For example, a client of mine neglected to tell anyone that he was going on a low-carb diet. when he went over to his mothers house for his regular Saturday-family meal, he found himself with no low-carb options.

Of course, his family may not have adjusted their eating plan according to my client’s needs. But it does give them the option to help rather than hinder.

Gives You an Out

Letting others know about your dietary changes gives you the upper hand in case you find yourself presented with high-carb temptation. What do I mean by this? Let’s say a friend invites you out to lunch, and he offers to pay. But he wants to go to a place where there are not a lot of low-carb options. If you have not told him about your dietary change, then asking to go to a different restaurant could seem a bit rude. However, if you have told your friend, then you can say something like, “That sounds great, but remember I had mentioned that I’m on a low-carb diet. I’m really serious about being healthy. Could you help me out by going to a restaurant with more low-carb options?”

In Closing

There will always be people who want to see you fail. That is to say, there will be people who do not want to help you even if you have told them about your dietary changes. For example, your friend might be inviting you to lunch because he wants to insure your failure. However, those who want to see others fail normally act indirectly. Letting others know about your dietary needs puts the responsibility on them. They either have to be honest with their desire to see you fail, or they have to acquiesce to your dietary needs.

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