A sugar by any other name

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diabetes, diet, dietician, eating, eating disorders, eating healthy, emotional eating, exercise, food addiction, fun weight loss, how to lose weight, is sugar the enemy, lose weight, obese, sugar, weight loss, weight loss support

I know that in the quest to cut calories and eliminate sugar from our diets, many folks turn to sugar substitutes.  I have heard some very diverse opinions on these alternatives, and wanted to find out- what’s the deal?  I found this great article from the Mayo clinic and wanted to share.

Understanding artificial sweeteners and other sugar substitutes

Sugar substitutes are loosely considered any sweetener that you use instead of regular table sugar (sucrose). Artificial sweeteners are just one type of sugar substitute. The chart lists some popular sugar substitutes and how they’re commonly categorized.

The topic of sugar substitutes can be confusing. One problem is that the terminology is often open to interpretation. For instance, some manufacturers call their sweeteners “natural” even though they’re processed or refined, as is the case with stevia preparations. And some artificial sweeteners are derived from naturally occurring substances — sucralose comes from sugar, for example.

Regardless of how they’re classified, sugar substitutes aren’t magic bullets for weight loss. Take a closer look.

Artificial sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners are synthetic sugar substitutes but may be derived from naturally occurring substances, including herbs or sugar itself. Artificial sweeteners are also known as intense sweeteners because they are many times sweeter than regular sugar.

Uses for artificial sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners are attractive alternatives to sugar because they add virtually no calories to your diet. In addition, you need only a fraction compared with the amount of sugar you would normally use for sweetness.

Artificial sweeteners are widely used in processed foods, including baked goods, soft drinks, powdered drink mixes, candy, puddings, canned foods, jams and jellies, dairy products, and scores of other foods and beverages.

Artificial sweeteners are also popular for home use. Some can even be used in baking or cooking. Certain recipes may need modification, though, because artificial sweeteners provide no bulk or volume, as does sugar. Check the labels on artificial sweeteners for appropriate home use.

Some artificial sweeteners may leave an aftertaste. You may need to experiment with artificial sweeteners to find one or a combination that you enjoy most

Possible health benefits of artificial sweeteners

One benefit of artificial sweeteners is that they don’t contribute to tooth decay and cavities. They may also help with the following:

• Weight control. One of the most appealing aspects of artificial sweeteners is that they are non-nutritive — they have virtually no calories. In contrast, each gram of regular table sugar contains 4 calories. A teaspoon of sugar is about 4 grams. For perspective, consider that one 12-ounce can of a sweetened cola contains 8 teaspoons of added sugar, or about 130 calories. If you’re trying to lose weight or prevent weight gain, products sweetened with artificial sweeteners rather than with higher calorie table sugar may be an attractive option. On the other hand, some research has suggested that consuming artificial sweeteners may be associated with increased weight, but the cause is not yet known.
• Diabetes. Artificial sweeteners may be a good alternative to sugar if you have diabetes. Unlike sugar, artificial sweeteners generally don’t raise blood sugar levels because they are not carbohydrates. But because of concerns about how sugar substitutes are labeled and categorized, always check with your doctor or dietitian about using any sugar substitutes if you have diabetes.

Possible health concerns with artificial sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners have been the subject of intense scrutiny for decades. Critics of artificial sweeteners say that they cause a variety of health problems, including cancer. That’s largely because of studies dating to the 1970s that linked saccharin to bladder cancer in laboratory rats. Because of those studies, saccharin once carried a warning label that it may be hazardous to your health.

But according to the National Cancer Institute and other health agencies, there’s no sound scientific evidence that any of the artificial sweeteners approved for use in the U.S. cause cancer or other serious health problems. And numerous research studies confirm that artificial sweeteners are generally safe in limited quantities, even for pregnant women. As a result of the newer studies, the warning label for saccharin was dropped.

Artificial sweeteners are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as food additives. They must be reviewed and approved by the FDA before being made available for sale. In some cases, the FDA declares a substance “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS). These GRAS substances, including highly refined stevia preparations, are deemed by qualified professionals based on scientific data as being safe for their intended use, or they have such a lengthy history of common use in food that they’re considered generally safe and don’t require FDA approval before sale.

The FDA has also established an acceptable daily intake (ADI) for each artificial sweetener. This is the maximum amount considered safe to consume each day over the course of your lifetime. ADIs are intended to be about 100 times less than the smallest amount that might cause health concerns.

Natural sweeteners

Natural sweeteners are sugar substitutes that are often promoted as healthier options than processed table sugar or other sugar substitutes. But even these so-called natural sweeteners often undergo processing and refining, including agave nectar.

Among the natural sweeteners that the FDA recognizes as being generally safe for consumption are fruit juices and nectars, honey, molasses, and maple syrup.

Uses for natural sweeteners

Natural sweeteners have a variety of uses both at home and in processed foods. They are sometimes known as added sugars because they’re added to foods during processing. They may be used to sweeten drinks such as tea and cocktails, in desserts, as pancake and waffle toppings, on cereals, and for baking, for example.

Possible health benefits of natural sweeteners

Although natural sugar substitutes may seem healthier than processed table sugar, their vitamin and mineral content isn’t significantly different from that of sugar. Honey and sugar, for instance, are nutritionally similar, and both end up in your body as glucose and fructose. Choose a natural sweetener based on how it tastes and its uses, rather than on its health claims.

Possible health concerns with natural sweeteners

So-called natural sweeteners are generally safe. But there’s no health advantage to consuming added sugar of any type. And consuming too much added sugar, even natural sweeteners, can lead to health problems such as tooth decay, poor nutrition, weight gain and increased triglycerides. Also, be aware that honey can contain small amounts of bacterial spores that can produce botulism toxin. Because of that, honey shouldn’t be given to children less than 1 year old.

Moderation is key with sugar substitutes

When choosing sugar substitutes, it pays to be a savvy consumer. Get informed and look beyond the hype. While artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes may help with weight management, they aren’t a magic bullet and should be used only in moderation.

Just because a food is marketed as sugar-free doesn’t mean it’s free of calories. If you eat too many sugar-free foods, you can still gain weight if they have other ingredients that contain calories. And remember that processed foods, which often contain sugar substitutes, generally don’t offer the same health benefits as do whole foods, such as fruits and vegetables.

Thanks to the Mayo Clinic for their informative article!  Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.  Also, remember to join the only weight loss site where you can “Win When You Lose.”  www.theweightrace.com

 

Mind Over Munchies

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affirmations, diet, dietician, eating, eating disorders, eating healthy, emotional, exercise, fat, food addiction, fun weight loss, how to lose weight, lose weight, losing weight, motivation, obese, overweight, weight loss, weight loss contest, weight loss support, working out

Have you ever seen someone smoking and think to yourself, “Why are they doing that, don’t they know it can kill you?!?” I have thought that they should just stop; that if they became aware of just how bad it was, they would change.  I just never really understood it was more than choosing to stop, that there is a chemical reaction that drives that behavior.

I am embarrassed to admit that, because I am allowing myself to continue to sabotage my health on a daily basis.  I overeat, don’t work out, indulge on sugary drinks which has all resulted in a serious weight problem.  Yet, until recently I didn’t make the correlation that I am addicted as well, my addiction just happens to be food. I just learned that more American’s die every year from obesity related diseases than all of the different cancers combined.

So what is it about food that make’s us throw caution to the wind and make bad choices? Experiments in animals and humans show that, for some people, the same reward and pleasure centers of the brain that are triggered by addictive drugs like cocaine and heroin are also activated by food, especially highly palatable foods. Highly palatable foods are foods rich in:

• Sugar
• Fat
• Salt

Like addictive drugs, highly palatable foods trigger feel-good brain chemicals such as dopamine. Once people experience pleasure associated with increased dopamine transmission in the brain’s reward pathway from eating certain foods, they quickly feel the need to eat again.

The reward signals from highly palatable foods may override other signals of fullness and satisfaction. As a result, people keep eating, even when they’re not hungry.

According to Dr. Pam Peeke in her book “The Hunger Fix,” “Food addiction is real. Our body’s built-in reward system, driven by the chemical dopamine, tells us to do things that give us pleasure: Creative energy, falling in love, entrepreneurship—even the continued procreation of the human race—are driven by this system. Unfortunately, so is the urge to overeat”   Dr.  Peeke goes on to give some advice on overcoming food addiction.

• Step one: Strengthen the mind. Peeke said people should identity the snacks they crave the most and then use transcendental meditation to reduce the urges.
• Step two: Trick the mouth. Peeke said there are ways we can replace our unhealthy “food fixes” with foods that are just as delicious but are whole, natural foods. Instead of reaching for the ice cream, Peeke said people should try a chocolate, cheery and almond protein smoothie, but instead of a protein bar, try a banana with peanut butter and instead of a cupcake, try a carrot muffin.
• Step three: Move your muscles. By working out regularly, Peeke said people can stave off cravings and reward their brains with endorphins instead of sugar.

I am looking forward to reading the whole book and sharing some of the advice and tips with everyone.  Until then, please join us at our community where we inspire and reward losing weight and making healthy choices.

Join Now at www.theweightace.com

Re-Set Your Mind, Be Who You Want To Be

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diet, emotional eating, exercise, fat, fitness, food addiction, fun weight loss, healthy living, how to lose weight, lose weight, losing weight, motivation, obese, overeating, overweight, weight loss, weight loss blog, weight loss contest, weight loss support, working out

I think one of the areas we all get stuck in is our habits.  It’s a lot easier to just keep living life the way we have been versus really making a change.  That doesn’t have to be the way it is, we can make positive changes in our lives. If you aren’t a member yet, please join our growing community at www.theweightrace.com  Our goal is to help motivate you to lose weight and make healthy decisions.  We have extended the free membership, so don’t miss out and JOIN TODAY!

Today, you’re going to learn valuable life lessons from Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph, Pixar’s Brave, and Nintendo’s Donkey Kong. 

Who you were doesn’t need to be who you are.

These three characters spent most of their lives living life in a certain way:

• Wreck-It Ralph is a video game character whose job it is to be the bad guy. Ralph wrecks things just so that the hero, Fix-It Felix, can drop in to save the day.
• In Brave, a princess named Merida spends her whole life learning everything there is to know about being a queen, so that her arranged marriage goes off without a hitch and an ancient tradition continues.
• Our pal Donkey Kong has to constantly kidnap the princess, so that Mario can come rescue her.

Life gets interesting when this guy, gal, and ape decide that they’re tired of how things are going and want to make changes.  Not surprisingly, they all hit a number of snags along the way attempting to change their fate – however they each found solace in taking greater control of their own destinies.

I want you to do the same.

Who you were

For thirty years, Wreck-It Ralph was the bad guy.

Day after day, he would do his darnedest to rip countless buildings apart, Rampage-style.  And he was really good at it!

Ralph was a nice enough fellow and just wanted to hang out the good guys after work ended.  Unfortunately, because he was only ever known for being a bad guy, Ralph faced a tremendous amount of resistance and ridicule when he tried to change the status quo.  He was good at being a bad guy, and thus struggled to shed his image of the “bad guy that’s also a BAD guy.”

After thirty years, Ralph finally decided that enough is enough. Throwing caution into the wind, Ralph sets out on a journey of self-discovery, attempting to remake his image from who he was into who wants to be, and earn the respect of his friends and co-workers.

Up until yesterday, you were somebody too.

Every decision you made up until that point made you who you were:

What you ate
If you exercised
What made you happy
Where you worked
Who you hung out with

Like Ralph, you were somebody yesterday.  You’re known to your friends, family, and coworkers as that person.  

Like, Ralph, you can decide to be somebody else today, even if it means getting funny looks or “that doesn’t sound like you” and “why bother changing” comments from people who don’t believe that you can change.  Prove them wrong!

Decide who you want to be

For more than a decade, Donkey Kong was just a bad guy too.

It was his job to kidnap the princess, climb atop a platform, and sit there like a chump to wait until Mario climbed up and kicked his ass! Like Wreck-It Ralph, Donkey Kong did his job to the best of his ability, because he didn’t know any better.  He was great at being a bad guy!

Then one day, he decided he was tired of waiting around for his ass to get kicked.

So he expanded his horizons, went on his own adventures, and learned new skills.  Donkey Kong pushed through the adversity and went on to have a wildly successful career, from adventuring and go-kart racing, to golfing and tennis…heck, he even went on to become a popular bongo player.  Sure, he had more success in some areas than others, but he continually reinvented himself despite his troubled past.

Who you were yesterday doesn’t control who you want to be today. Like we’ve learned from the Rules of the Rebellion, “We don’t care where you came from, only where you’re going.”

Starting RIGHT NOW, you get to decide what you want to be when you grow up.  I don’t care if you’re 65 years old and 400 pounds, you can decide you want to be whatever the heck you want, right now.

• Want to try parkour? Go for it.
• Want to become a great cook?  Start by cooking your first meal.
• Want to become a kick-ass yoga fan?  Go do a downward dog!

If Donkey Kong can play golf, drive a go-kart, and play the bongos, you can become whatever you want!!

Be true to yourself

“If you had the chance to change your fate, would you?”

As I learned from Brave: “There are those who say fate is something beyond our command, that our destiny is not our own, but I know better.  Our fate lives within us.”

Change your fate, friend!

• Change your mindset today, right this instant;who you want to be and then start working every day towards that goal.  The more specific you can be about the new YOU, the easier it will be to identify the steps and processes that need to happen to get you there!  And then take it one day, one step at a time.
• If you’ve been the skinny weak guy/girl your entire life, there’s no reason you can’t change your mindset today!
• If you’re in a job or career that you dislike, there is NO reason you can’t pick a new field that actually interests you.
• If you’re in an unfulfilling relationship, you have the ability to find somebody that makes you happy and treats you with respect.

If you don’t like your situation, shut up and change it! 

Yep, it might require you hitting the reset button and starting all over.  It might require you to find a few new friends who aren’t only interested in hanging out with you when you eat too much and don’t exercise. You have only one quarter, one play-through of life – it’s up to you to play it to the best of your ability.

So, I don’t want to know who you were.

I want to know who you are and what you want to be.

In Pixar’s Brave, Merida is absolutely terrified at the thought of going through an arranged marriage and becoming a boring queen stuck in a chair all day making decisions.

She would much rather saddle up her beloved horse, grab her trusty bow and arrow, and go on awesome adventures around the picturesque Scottish countryside.  In order to “change her fate” (must be read in a Scottish accent), Merida sets out to change her mother’s mind.

Merida realizes that the way it’s always been done simply isn’t right for her. Merida didn’t know it, but she was simply following rule nine of the Rebellion, question everything.

Conventional wisdom be damned, Merida knew that society’s notions of who she should be just wasn’t right for her.

• Two thirds of Americans these days are overweight – do you really want to be like everybody else?
• Most people chase quick fixes, fad diets, crappy “health meals”, and then abandon their goals just as soon as they start them.  You care what those people think about you?  Let them think you’re weird and boring with your “diet and exercise.”
• If a dad is obese, the likelihood that his children will be obese by age 9 increases by over 1000% than if the kid had healthy parents.  Yup, that’s Three zeroes.  If you want a better life for your children, start by breaking tradition and taking care of yourself.

Just because you’re predispositioned or “destined” to head down a certain path does NOT mean you have to.  Sure, it’s going to be challenging as hell to change your routine and WHO you are, especially when you go against the grain, but it doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

• Ignore the naysayers and make your own destiny -  You might have friends and family who tell you they don’t want you to change. They’d rather you stay unhealthy and unsuccessful so they feel better about not improving their own lives! So screw em! Nod politely, smile, and then go about your business of living a better life.
• Retrain yourself -  Going against the grain means you’ll struggle to build those old habits and build new ones.  It’s a challenge, but it’s doable.
• Patience is crucial -  Do not expect overnight success.  Don’t forget, it took you years and years (or decades and decades) to get you to where you are currently.  It could take years and years before you reach your new “fate,” so don’t chase quick fixes and “too good to be true” products and services.

“If you had the chance to change your fate, would you?”  You do, so do it.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

This post is from Steve over at Nerd Fitness, check them out if you can and subscribe to his blog as he has lots of great advice and puts into terms we can relate to!

Oz Approved 7-Day Crash Diet

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7 day diet, detox, diet, dr oz, elementary, healthy crash diet, Jonny Lee Miller, losing weight, need help losing weight, obese, overweight, Oz-Approved 7-Day Crash Diet, sherlock holmes, weight loss

If you are like me, you have probably seen tons of those pop up ads saying they have the Dr. Oz diet secret.   Then they hide some gimmick in there and you find it’s not really the plan that Dr. Oz recommends, but more like the Wizard of Oz’s version.

With that in my head I decided to become your Sherlock and track down this mysterious 7-day Crash Diet.  So come on Watson and follow me along this adventure.  It’s a short adventure as I really just went straight to the source, Dr. Oz’s website; it was really elementary!  (Yes I love the show and just had to pay homage)  I would love to have a follow up blog post where we actually get some real feedback from folks who have tried it.  I have not yet, so for now just passing along the information.  Thanks!

Join The Weight Race Free for a limited time at www.theweightrace.com and don’t forget that this is Jonny Lee Miller’s favorite website!!!  Well, not really….but if he ever needed to shed a few pounds, I know he would love our premise. XOXO out to my favorite actor!

Weight-loss guru Dr. Joel Fuhrman claims he can get you on the fast track to dropping the pounds in just one week. The secret? It’s not a starvation diet, but the exact opposite. His plan allows you to eat all you want and still lose weight. The key is in feasting on nutrient-dense foods – rich in vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidants – that are low in calories. Many of the superfoods you are familiar with fall under the nutrient-dense category. According to Dr. Fuhrman, the more of these kinds of foods you eat, the faster you will lose weight.

Why does Dr. Fuhrman’s plan work? Every meal you eat according to his specifications also helps you stave off hunger. Hunger is one of the major roadblocks most dieters face when attempting to lose weight. Dr. Fuhrman’s findings suggest that eating a diet of nutrient-dense foods results in a sustainable eating pattern that can lead to weight loss and improved health – even if you are consuming fewer calories. It’s the nutrients that satiate you for longer and make the periods of hunger between meals more tolerable, so you won’t feel desperate to reach for an unhealthy snack or comfort food. His plan focuses on healthy, whole foods – but makes no room for anything processed, including fake diet foods.

Dr. Fuhrman’s Crash Diet is only extreme in that you dive right in. The idea is that the new habits you learn in the next 7 days will become part of your lifestyle. It will no longer feel like a diet, but your default method of eating. Here are the 3 simple steps for everyone who wants to slim down in a week:

Step 1: Follow the 90/10 Rule Every Day

For the next 7 days, you’ll eat 90% nutrient-dense foods – veggies, fruits, seeds and nuts, beans and whole grains. For the remaining 10%, you can have healthy oils, meat and dairy.

A typical day on the Crash Diet would look like this

Light and Lean Breakfast

While eating protein, like eggs, is often touted as the right way to start your day, the same rules don’t apply here. Many people eat too much protein, resulting in an over consumption of calories and weight gain. Think of only light and lean foods, like fruit, oats and flax. You may be asking yourself, what about the yogurt? None here. If you are concerned about calcium, consider this: Natural unprocessed foods like fruits and vegetables have calcium. For example, an orange has 60 mg of calcium.

Belly-Blasting Bean Lunch

Ignite your body’s fat-blasting furnace by eating beans. Beans are a dieter’s best friend. They keep you full, and are high in resistant starch, meaning that half the calories consumed can not be absorbed. They also reduce blood sugar, and create the fatty acid butyrate, which may burn fat faster. Studies show that butyrate improves mitochondrial function in your cells, leading to a decrease in fat. If you’re worried about gas, fret not. The more beans you eat, the more your body will build up the good bacteria you need to digest them. You can enjoy beans in a burger patty, in chili or as a dip.

Click here for a Sunny Bean Burger recipe.

Click here for a 3-Bean Chili recipe. 

Click here for a Bean Enchilada recipe.

Click here for an Herbed White Bean Hummus recipe.

Lean Green Skinny Supper

Think outside the salad bowl. Make greens and vegetables your main dish in other creative ways – enjoy a veggie pizza, eggplant roll-ups or a veggie stir-fry. You can even add an ounce of chicken to your stir-fry for a little bit of extra flavor.

Click here for an Easy Vegetable Pizza recipe.

Click here for an Eggplant Roll-Ups recipe.

Click here for a Veggie Stir-Fry recipe.  

Step 2: Use Secret Weapons

Dr. Fuhrman recommends eating “BOM’s” to really kick your body’s fat-burning mechanisms into high gear. BOM’s are Berries, Onions and Mushrooms. These foods are anti-angiogenic. Why is this important? Because anti-angiogenic foods can starve fat cells by cutting off the blood supply to your fat. How? The growth of new capillary blood vessels is called angiogenesis. Research shows that cancer cells, for example, are known to hijack angiogenesis and keep it permanently switched on to ensure that it has a dedicated, uninterrupted blood supply so it can grow. But, by eating foods that can block the process of angiogenesis, you can starve these cancer cells. Dr. Fuhrman maintains you can also block the blood supply to fat cells by eating anti-angiogenic foods. The more of these foods you eat, the more weight you lose.

For more on anti-angiogeneis, click here.

Step 3: Detox With Skinny Shakes

To flush fat from your body, you’ll need to release the toxins that are keeping you swollen with fat and fluid. To repair cellular damage from processed foods, make a Skinny Shake of pomegranate juice, strawberries and lemon. Pomegranates are anti-angiogenic and can reduce inflammation. Strawberries are anti-angiogenic and protect against oxidative stress. And lemon juice has vitamin C, natural antibacterial properties, can aid digestion, and helps reduce stress.

Skinny Shake

Ingredients

1 cup of ice

4 oz of pomegranate juice

1 cup frozen strawberries

Squeeze of lemon

Directions  Add all ingredients to a blender and enjoy. Add water to reach your desired consistency.

Angry Birds Workout! Yes, I said it….

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angry birds workout, fun exercise, fun weight loss, how to lose weight, losing weight, overweight, thanksgiving diet, weight loss, weight loss community, weight loss contest, weight loss support

 

Looks like our angry bird friend here is ready for Thanksgiving!  If you are anything like me, you are already thinking about that yummy day full of gravy, stuffing, pie and roasted turkey!  Since we all tend to eat a bit more than we should this time of year, I thought I would share some Nerd Fitness with you so you can add some exercise in your day.

Here’s how The Angry Bird Workout Plan works: it’s deceptively simple – only four major movements.

• Body weight squats
• Push ups
• Pull ups (or bent over rows or inverted rows)
• Planks

Each exercise will have MANY different levels based on your ability and level of fitness.

Depending on how much time you have during the day, you can do your whole workout at once, or break up your workout into four different sessions throughout the day (with each session being ONE of the exercises).  You can even split the workout across two days if you have to: squats and push ups on Monday, and then pull ups and planks on Tuesday.

Here’s a sample day:

• Wake up, do 40 jumping jacks to warm up, and then do body weight squats.
• At lunch, you grab your suitcase and do bent over rows.
• After work, you do another 50 jumping jacks and then do your push ups.
• After dinner, you do your planks while watching TV.

How it works

Your goal is to do the required number of reps for your level in two sets or less. Just like in Angry Birds, you can award yourself a star rating based on how you did.  For the full guide to the Angry Bird workout go to-  http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/AngryBirdsWorkout.xls

If you haven’t checked out our site yet, drop by www.theweightrace.com

Membership is free through end of 2012, so join today!   We are a community to help support your weight loss journey.  We have weight loss contests, badges you can earn, member discounts, games, diet recipe’s and more!  Come see how it feels to “Win When You Lose”

What’s Your Weight Magnet?

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affirmations, diet, eating, eating disorders, eating healthy, emotional eating, fitness, fun weight loss, how to lose weight, law of attraction, lose weight, motivation, overeating, overweight, self esteem, working out

Over the last few years there has been a lot of talk about the law of attraction and how we need to focus on positive things in our lives and by doing so, more positive things will come to us.  I firmly believe this and am constantly realigning my thoughts to be more positive, but what I want to talk about here is a little more obscure.   I want to talk about each and every one of us finding our magnets.

As you know there are many different sizes of magnets.  Small magnets can pull small things in, while large magnets can have amazing strength and break through barriers to pull something toward them; It’s actually quite amazing.  A big enough magnet can pull something to them that seems impossible, and yet it does it with ease.

Let’s talk about this idea of your weight magnet.  Most of the folks that start any weight loss program really want to lose weight, yet so many of us fail to realize our goal.  It’s because our magnet is not big enough!  Telling ourselves we want to lose 10 or 20 or 200 pounds and using that as our goal isn’t enough for our mind to create our own personal magnetic field.  We need to really connect with the result of weight loss.  By creating feelings around the success of the weight loss, we will increase the strength of our magnet!  I am not talking about putting up a picture on your fridge of some super model or even your thin self and saying “that’s my magnet”, this doesn’t create a positive emotional connection.  You need to sit down, get quiet and think about how it will feel when you can get those jeans on.  Envision how it will feel to get second glances from the folks that see how good you look.

In addition to creating emotional magnets, there are also tangible things that can be your magnet.  Going to your high school reunion, getting married, winning a million dollars on The Biggest Loser!  Those are some awesome magnets right?

Here is your challenge, try sitting down where you can have some private quiet time and really find your weight magnet, identify the feelings around your success and then every day spend a few minutes focusing on it again.  By doing this your magnet will grow stronger and stronger, and those barriers to weight loss will no longer stand in your way!!

Thanks so much for listening, love to see you drop by and join our weight loss community, www.theweightrace.com,  It’s free!

Your Scale…..Friend or Foe?

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contest, diet, eating, emotional eating, exercise, fat, fitness, food addiction, fun weight loss, lose weight, motivation, obese, overweight, prevention, prizes, working out

One of the tips I have heard from time to time regarding weight loss is to not weight yourself, to simply gauge your weight loss by how your clothes look and feel on you.  Though I admit there are times I want to throw my scale out the window, I have come to find that it is vital to my dieting success.

When you think about it, your scale is really the easiest way to hold yourself accountable for your decisions.  If you over indulge and eat that chocolate cake for dessert (OK so you do it three nights in a row) or you haven’t strapped on your tennis shoes for so long that they are collecting dust; your scale will tell you!  I know there are always variables like water retention or muscle gain….but for the most part it paints a pretty accurate picture of what you are choosing each day.

An article earlier this year in Prevention Magazine advises us all to make friends with our scales.  I know you aren’t going to be taking long strolls together or playing a game of hearts, but here are some great ideas to think about when getting on the scale. 

Weigh yourself often (really!)

Out of sight, out of mind simply doesn’t work. In one study, daily weighers dropped twice as many pounds as weekly weighers—12 pounds versus 6, possibly because it was a regular reminder to stay on track. Meanwhile, dieters who avoided the scale altogether gained 4 pounds. And despite the common belief that focusing on weight makes women feel bad about themselves, scientists have found that tracking your weight can actually improve your mood by giving you a sense of control!

Don’t sweat fluctuations

The biggest culprit is water (and water in the food you eat). The calories in a liter of soda would add about 0.10 pound if you didn’t burn them off, but step on the scale immediately after drinking it and you’ll be up over 2 pounds; go to the bathroom and you’ll likely drop 1 to 1.5 pounds. You even lose water weight—about 2 pounds a day—just by breathing and sweating. Day-to-day fluctuations can be the result of eating a high-sodium meal or your level of hydration, while your menstrual cycle can cause changes all month long. Remember, no one meal or single splurge will move the scale’s needle in a lasting way unless it becomes a habit. However, a difference of 100 calories at every meal could add up to more than 30 pounds in a year—in either direction.  (crazy right??)

I know that there are many paths to success, all of us at The Weight Race are here to encourage you, support you and provide some motivation!  Come join us today, it’s free!  www.theweightrace.com

Become A Jedi: How the Force Can Help You Get in Shape

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diet, eating healthy, emotional eating, exercise, fat, fitness, food addiction, fun weight loss, lose weight, motivation, overeating, overweight, weight loss

One of my favorite sites for diet and exercise advise on the web is Nerd Fitness, you should check it out. He always has great tips with an edge of humor mixed in.  This post is one I love from that site.  Don’t forget to also join our growing community, it’s free and you can win prizes, earn badges and other cool stuff.  www.theweightrace.com

Want to learn the ways of the Force?

Good, you’re in the right spot.  Here is your step-by-step guide to using to becoming a fitness Jedi master.  Yes I realize this might sound a bit ridiculous, but hear me out.  Instead of light sabers and billowy robes, I’ll be discussing how to get you in the best shape of your life…and into pants that fit.

You must unlearn what you have learned

Unfortunately, there is a lot of crap information out there when it comes to losing in weight and getting in shape.  If your idea of a balanced breakfast is a bagel and a glass of orange juice, we have a lot of work to do.  What about exercise?  Let me know if this sounds familiar:

• Spend 30-45 minutes on a treadmill or elliptical
• Wander over to a few machines, crank out a few reps on various exercises
• Go do some crunches on a mat
• Drive home, drink a Gatorade, and feel good about yourself

Your heart is in the right place, but it is misguided.  You might think lifting weights will make you bulky, hours of cardio is the best way to lose weight, and drinks like Gatorade and Vitamin Water are good for you.  Young padowan, you have much to learn, so let’s start by forgetting whatever you thing you know (unless you’ve been getting your info from Nerd Fitness…you can keep that info).  Luckily, there is hope for you yet.  Once you’ve cleared your mind, I’d start your re-education here:

• How to not suck at losing weight
• How to not suck at getting in shape
• How to not suck at working out
  

  Learn the ways of the Force

  The Force is responsible for everything that a Jedi does and how he acts; it’s the life force that binds everything together.  When getting in shape, you need to learn the ways of the Force and understand how everything in your life is interconnected:

  • Your bad diet can and will affect your performance in the gym.
  • Your poor sleeping habits can and will affect your weight loss.
  • Your daily exercising can and have a positive influence on how you eat.

  The Force affects everything around you. Exercising every day but eating and sleeping poorly will NOT give you the results you want (“these aren’t the results you’re looking for”).  You need to find a good balance in your diet and exercise, focusing on actionable goals and results.  Once you learn that everything is connected, and that everything you do affects everything else, you are one step closer to becoming who you want to be.

  This journey willchange your life.  As you start to change your diet and begin exercising regularly, you will start to sleep better and feel better.  You’ll have a new found sense of confidence, which will allow you to exercise more in public and eat better in public.  Every action you take will either lead you closer to the dark side (boo) or the light side (yay).

Your Phone and Fitness- what a team!

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diet, eating healthy, exercise, fitness, fun weight loss, obese, overeating, overweight, The Weight Race, weight loss

Socially networked fitness games for your phone are multiplying faster than fungus on a yoga mat. Why? Well, for starters, we’re all addicted to our phones.

Another reason: games on your phone can help alleviate workout tedium and be used to guide you through calisthenics anywhere—in the airport, your office cubicle, or the car (careful!).

But the real genius of these fitness apps may lie in the all-motivating power of peer pressure. Simply put, you’re more likely to exercise if your friends are tweeting you words of encouragement or posting their latest fitness accomplishments on Facebook.

Ready to put some muscle into your social network? Here are our three favorite social fitness apps, scored for creativity, practicality, cost, and a good burn.

Zombies, Run

An immersed running game that turns your jog into a death-defying dash through a zombie apocalypse. Choose among 40 different terrifying adventures, as an audio track guides you through an epic bid to save humanity from the living dead.

Zombie Chase mode makes interval training resemble a scene from The Walking Dead, and you can share your runs online with other zombie runners, keep track of your times, view maps, and use the virtual goods you collected during your run to build a home base and earn more missions. Who knew role-playing could work up a sweat?

This app scores big on convenience and creativity. Bummer: Getting chased by imaginary flesher eaters isn’t cheap. The app is a hefty $7.99. www.zombiesrungame.com

Teemo

If you’d rather bypass zombie blood, Teemo offers wholesome adventures to get your blood pumping. Climb Everest, hike the Inca Trail, or dash through a desert. The best part is you won’t go it alone. Just like in a relay race, you finish one leg of the journey, complete an exercise, and then pass the virtual baton to a friend via Facebook.

Exercises can be done anywhere, without props, and each comes with a short video tutorial. You’ll bear crawl, frog hop, lunge, and hold side plank.

The hardest part is working up the nerve to do the moves in public. You may draw jeers from your coworkers as you do push-ups at your desk, but one flex of your bicep, and they’ll be on your Teemo. Bonus: The app is free. www.goteemo.com

Fitocracy

Fitocracy CEO Brian Wang was once a skinny, pale, and asocial gaming addict, so he created the socially networked app to help you “slay the laziness dragon.”

Fitocracy turns exercise into a fierce competition. As with any video game, you work your way through successively more challenging levels, earning points and rewards for each exercise regimen completed. You can play against more than 230,000 registered “Fitocrats,” borrow one of their workouts, or lean on them for advice and inspiration.

If you like to keep personal data points, there’s a suite of widgets for tracking your fitness level and routines. Warning: Many of the workouts entail a trip to the good old-fashioned analog gym! And, as with all of these apps, Fitocracy (which is also free) assumes you’ll play fair and report your workouts honestly. Like Mom says, cheaters only cheat themselves. www.fitocracy.com

 

Thanks to the awesome folks at http://www.wellandgoodnyc.com for this awesome article!

Are You Making These 7 Dieting Mistakes?

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aromatherapy, diet, echinacea, green foods, herbal tea blends, herbal weight loss, herbs for weight loss, losing weight, overeating, soy tablets, weight loss

Health Update:
Are You Making These 7 Dieting Mistakes?

You’ve started a new diet. You’ve been good all week, making sensible meals, managing your portions, even exercising a little…then the weekend hits. You eat too much. You drink too much. You give up.

Not so fast! A couple of slipups won’t undo all your hard work. The key is to know the dieting pitfalls you¢re likely to make and plan ahead to avoid them.

Here are the top seven dieting mistakes. How many are you making?

1. Skipping breakfast.Research shows that people who don’t eat breakfast actually weigh more than those who do. There’s a mistaken belief that if you skip breakfast, you’re saving calories. Problem is you end up snacking and eating more at other meals because you’re body is so starved for food. Always begin your day with a healthy breakfast. Black coffee, an egg, whole wheat toast and a half grapefruit has only 250 calories and will stave off hunger pangs till lunch.
2. Too many liquid calories. Did you know that a regular soda can pack on 15 pounds in one year? Not to mention lattes, fruit smoothies and alcohol. These liquid calories do little to satisfy any hunger and the calories add up fast.
3. Not exercising. If 30 minutes is too much to even think about, start with 10 and see how it goes. If exercising is a drag to you, try something fun like bowling, playing ping-pong, or dancing. The idea is to get moving and have so much fun you’ll stick with it.
4. Using extreme diets. These don’t work and can be very detrimental to your health. When you deprive your body of food two things happen: your metabolic rate slows down to make up for few calories and your desire to binge increases. In addition extreme dieting may lead to the bloating of fat cells, shrinking of muscle cells, accumulation of toxic fats and fatigue. Rather than thinking "diet" think lifestyle change.
5. Mindless munching. Even if it’s not on a plate, it still counts. A couple of cheesy crackers before dinner, test-tasting a sauce, finishing food from your kids¢ plates while washing dishes, all adds up to more calories. On average figure 25 calories per bite. Do that 4 times in a day and you’ve just added 100 extra calories to your waistline without even realizing it.
6. Going overboard on low fat. It’s psychological. You pick a low-fat snack and you justify eating more of it because it IS low fat. Research backs this up. More food, even if it is non- or low-fat still means more calories.
7. Not taking vitamins and supplements. In a perfect world, we’d get all the nutrition, vitamins and minerals from our three perfectly balanced daily meals. Truth is, few of us do. Even if you think you’re eating right, modern food processing can deplete whatever nutrients were in the food originally. That’s why many take daily vitamins and supplements. While it’s important for everyone, it’s especially important for those who are trying to lose or maintain weight. It starts with a good, high-quality multivitamin.

As quickly as the pounds add up, they can also come off. The key is knowing what your pitfalls are and how to avoid them.

For great vitamin choices, visit Botanic Choice.

Don’t forget to Join The Weight Race at www.theweightrace.com It’s Free!