In this episode of A Mind For Fitness, I review Jimmy Moore’s book, Keto Clarity. Hope you enjoy.
In this episode of A Mind For Fitness, I review Jimmy Moore’s book, Keto Clarity. Hope you enjoy.
At the beginning of February, I decided to workout for at least 1/2 hour a day six days a week. I was (and still am) simply tired to working on this last 10 pounds of stubborn belly fat. A week or so ago, I blogged about the 21 Day Fix by Beach Body I got in the mail. That was part of my February goal to workout every day! I mentioned in that blog that I would keep you all updated. So have I lost any weight?
The answer is yes. However, while I am losing a little weight in the belly, I have also lost weight in a very strange place. “Where?” you may ask. In my feet! This is the first time I have lost fat off of my feet.
Interesting Story
I had to buy new shoes for work. And I where a size 12. I have always worn a size 12 since I was an adult. In fact, I have never worn anything other than a size 12 in my entire adult life. So logically, I tried on a size 12. It was lose around my heal and over the top of my foot. I tried tightening the laces but that was no help. “Must be a faulty pair of shoes,” I thought to myself while picking out another pair of size 12. But the same thing happened with this pair. Then another pair.
Finally, it occurred to me that I must no longer be a size 12. I tried on a size 11, and they fit perfectly. Then I tried on another pair of 11s just to make sure it was not a fluke. They also fit perfectly. The only conclusion I could possibly come to was that I must have lost weight in my feet.
I struggled with believing I had lost weight in my feet because I have never had that happen to me before. Also, it is not anything I hear people talking about. When someone loses weight, they often talk about their paints, shirt, and belt. But I have never heard anyone say, “Dude, I’m down a shoe size! High five!”
I guess, however, it is logical. I have seen some fat feet in my day. I must have shed some feet fat!
Closing
Shedding any excess fat is good. While I would like to see more come off of my belly, I am happy to have it off of my feet. If anyone else out there can identify or have a similar story, please share it in the comments.
So maybe your meals look like this:
But you want them to look like this:
Because you’er tired of looking like this:
And want to look like this:
Your first option is to go cold turkey and stop eating sugar and foods that turn into sugar in your body altogether. However, this may not be the right way to get off of sugar for everyone. Why? Well, There are some people we call sugar burners. These are people whose bodies prefer to burn glucose. These people have a difficult time using anything else as fuel.
Sugar burners have an extremely difficult time refraining from carbs cold turkey. Their bodies simply do not switch over to burning fat, and as a result, they have dizzy spells and have extreme cravings for high-carb foods. Also, they are always hungry and just do not feel satisfied eating low-carbohydrate food. These symptoms are called sugar withdraws.
I know about this because I was a sugar burner. I chose to tough though my withdrawals. But if you do not want to suffer though withdraws as I did, there is another method. Namely, you can decrease the amount of sugar you consume incrementally. Here is how in two easy steps.
Step One
Find out how many carbs you are eating in a day. You need to know this because you need to have a realistic measurement of what you are consuming.
Step Two
Once you know how many carbs you are eating, decrease your carbs by 10 grams a day for three days. Then say for there for two days. Continue this process until you are between 25 to 35 grams of carbs a day.
Keep in Mind
If you have chosen this method, you must not let yourself get too hungry. Decreasing carbs this fast will extremely reduce the size of your meals. Make sure you are adding fats and protean to your diet. Let your hunger guide you. Do not stuff yourself but eat until you are satisfied.
Finally
If you have decided to wean yourself off of carbs this way, please let us know how it is going. We would love to hear from you!
Admittedly, this dinner is more of a maintenance meal. By that I mean it is a meal that is low-carb and Paleo ( that is Paleo depending on who you ask). It is a high fat diet that can be made with all organic ingredients. That said, it does contain some fruit and some veggies that are higher in carbs than others. However, there are no starches or carbs form refined or artificial sources.
It starts with making a hamburger. But this hamburger is going to be kicked up a notch or two by adding these supper tasty toppings.
These toppings start by sauteing onions and bacon. Once those are mostly done, then add to the pan red peppers and mushrooms. Once it is all done, melt your favorite cheese over the top and place on your hamburger. Or you can have it as a side-dish
Now for the fruit salad. In this salad, I have blackberries, pineapple, 1/2 of an apple, strawberries, and one mandarin orange. But use whatever fruit you like. What makes this dish special is that I have added crushed pecans and a generous amount of cinnamon. This will take any fruit salad to the next level!
If you try these recipes, or better yet, if you change these recipes in your own unique way, let me know how it turned out. And please do not forget to share this blog on your favorite social media.
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 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!
Since the new year, I have heard a lot of people talk about losing weight. Of course very few will take any sort of action toward getting healthy. But, there will be a group of people who attempt to change their weight for the better. Out of this group, a minority will succeed. But the majority will, unfortunately, fail.
This year, however, there has been one attitude in particular among those who want to lose wight that has caught my attention. It’s an attitude or a belief that if followed will most certainly result in failure to lose weight.
What is this attitude? It is best reflected in the statement, “All I need to do is make a few healthier choices.” What is the problem with this belief? I will get to that, but before I do, I want to make a quick exception regarding this belief.
If you have an ectomorph, or a mesomorph body type, and you have twenty pounds or less to lose, then you may be able to make a “few more healthier choices” and still get good results.
However, if you have more than 20 pounds to lose, and/or you have an endomorph body style, you need to do more than just “make a few more healthier choices.”
So what is wrong with this belief? First off it is is vague. What constitutes “a few more healthier choices”? Is it one low-carb meal a day? Is it cutting 50 percent of your bread out of your diet? Is it working out more than once a week? The only thing this belief offers is vagueness.
There is also another way this attitude is vague. It does not tell you what is nutritionally healthier. Some may think that eating less fat and more carbohydrates is a way to “make a few more healthier choices.”
Finally, there is a big dose of denial with this attitude. If you do have more than 20 pounds to lose and/or you have a thicker body style, you have to stop fooling yourself by thinking your excess weight is a result of a few bad choices. You health is not going to be fixed by a few more good choices.
In the end, following this attitude is just a cop-out. It is not taking your health seriously and leads to disappointment. If you have had this attitude, give it up. It will do you no good. Take control of your life and take control of your health.
In this episode, Ean talks about a new years mentality that could be keeping you overweight. Plus some of the concerns he has with Paleo.
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.
A new episode of A Mind For Fitness is available. In this Episode I talk about how much weight I gained during the holiday season and what I’m doing about it. Also, my new motivation for the new year. Hope you enjoy!