7 Tips To Get You Off The Weight Loss-Weight Gain Roller Coaster
"Why do I keep gaining the same 10 pounds over and over again!?"
Have you ever lost weight for a special event or for bathing suit season by reducing calories and increasing your workouts only to regain the weight plus more a month or so later? This idea of eating less and exercising more rarely works in the long term. Sure, in the short term you may lose a little weight but you may have also lost muscle. Your brain senses that you are training hard and not fueling your body so it thinks you’re starving and holds onto the fat. It may also use the protein in your muscle for energy so you decrease muscle mass. When the crazy workouts stop and you return to your normal eating pattern, you will usually regain the weight plus more because your metabolism has decreased. Muscle burns fat! The best way to lose fat and gain muscle is to use a balanced approach. Take a serious look at what you are eating and the amount of exercise you actually get in a day. A change in lifestyle may be in order. Start out like you can hold out! Make exercise a normal part of your week and eat foods that help fuel your body. Here is a list of 7 things we have found helpful to get off the weight loss-gain rollercoaster.
1. Don’t Skip Breakfast!
When your mother told you to eat your breakfast, she was probably right. When you attempt to skip breakfast in an effort to reduce your total calories for the day, you set your body up for cravings, mindless snacking, and overeating at the next meal. But what is the best breakfast choice? Certainly not donuts, pop tarts, bagels, and sugary cereals. Even oatmeal is unhealthy (especially quick oats) when you add several spoonfuls of sugar! These foods only increase your insulin resistance. You want a meal that can sustain you for 4-5 hours and aid in fat loss, help you maintain lean muscle, and increase thermogenesis to help with fat buring.
Solution: Drink a protein shake for breakfast. It’s quick and convenient. If you are trying to lose weight, increasing your protein is a great way to stay satisfied between meals. It also prevents you from losing muscle mass, because when the body is not receiving enough calories, it takes protein from your muscles and you wind up with less muscle mass to burn calories. But make sure your protein shake is not full of sugar or artificial sweeteners. We personally use vegan protein powders because they are less allergenic. Vegan proteins have been shown to be just as affective at building muscle as whey proteins. Make sure your protein powders are high quality. Most protein powders are full of chemicals.
2. Eat Adequate Protein!
As described above one of the ways to increase protein and decrease muscle wasting is to use a quality protein shake for breakfast. Unless you are a professional body builder, your protein intake should be 4-6 ounces (20-30g) of protein at each meal. If you eat animal protein, a deck of cards or the palm of your hand is a good approximation of the size of protein you should be eating. It should be of highest quality and humanely raised; like grass fed beef, organic chicken, and wild caught fish. Most people eat more protein than they need and skip loading up on vegetables.
3. Cut Out Processed Foods!
Processed foods often have high amounts of sugar and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and other harmful chemicals. Both sugar and HFCS cause diabetes and disease. HFSC and sugar are not chemically identical and are not biologically metabolized the same way. HFCS is made from corn whose syrup is treated and cooked so that it contains twice the amount of fructose as sugar. When we consume HFCS it triggers lipogenesis, the production of fatty acids. These fatty acids are deposited in the liver and around the belly. Eating foods with excess sugar and HFCS is the major cause of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and cholesterol problems. When someone has more belly fat, it usually means they are eating too much sugar and HFCS. Excess sugar consumption also causes an overgrowth of yeast in your gut which increases your sugar cravings. Watch your labels!
Solution: Eat a piece of low glycemic fruit like a bowl of berries or an apple sprinkled with cinnamon. This will help keep sugar craving at bay. According to the American Heart Association, you should keep your sugar intake per day to no more than 24g for women and 36g for men. To put that in prospective, a coke has 39g of sugar. Do not opt for the diet soda! Artificial sweeteners cause health problems of their own and make you crave more sugar.
4. Eat More Vegetables!
Again, your mother was right! Get rid of the refined carbs and opt for vegetables and some fruit. Eating vegetables especially green leafy ones, increases your fiber intake which cleans out your colon and feeds the good bacteria in the gut. Fiber also helps you feel full longer. In addition to fiber, vegetables are loaded with phytonutrients and antioxidants that energize your body and react with the free radicals that are produced by the cells through metabolism.
Solution: Make your plate 80% vegetables and 20% protein. Include a handful of kale or spinach in your morning smoothie. Try to get 50% of your vegetables raw, like having a salad a day.
5. Prevent Dehydration!
Our bodies need water! We are 60-70% water. Water keeps the kidneys flushed and detoxified, and helps keep the lymph fluid flowing. It helps take nutrients and oxygen to the cells, it takes waste away, and it helps prevent constipation, just to name a few of waters many benefits.
Solution: Make water you beverage of choice. Don’t drink your calories! Instead, drink at least half of your body weight in ounces of water per day. Add fruit or cucumber slices to the water for added flavor.
6. Stop Eating Foods That You May Cause Allergic Reactions!
By continuing to eat foods that you are allergic/sensitive to may eventually cause leaky gut. That is where the connections between the cells of the small intestines become “unglue” allowing larger undigested food particles to enter the blood stream causing an allergic reaction. Symptoms maybe, problems with the gut like diarrhea, prevention of nutrient and mineral absorption, inflammation, weight gain, skin issues, phlegm in the throat, respiratory issues, etc.
Solution: Do an elimination diet and eliminate the most common allergic foods: Dairy, gluten, eggs, soy, corn, peanuts, sugar and artificial sweeteners. Replace these foods with vegetables and other helpful foods for a month. Add back one at the time to see which ones are problematic. If you would like more help in this elimination diet, contact us!
7. Include Movement!
Daily exercise is paramount! After diet, exercise is the most important component to a healthy way of life. If you sit all day behind a desk you live a sedentary life even though you may hit the gym after work. When you sit for long periods of time you become more insulin resistant making it harder to burn fat.
Solution: If you are new to exercise or it has been awhile since you did any exercise, I would suggest walking as a beginning strategy. Walking is a vital exercise that will help you burn calories and get the blood circulating and also helps you to become less insulin resistant. Get in as much walking as possible during the day. Ideally, you should get in 10,000+ steps a day! If you work in an office, you would be shocked to see how few steps you are taking. Wearing a device like a fitbit can help you track your steps. It can be set to make sure you are getting up every hour to move. Sitting all day increases your chances of developing a blood clot in the legs. During the day, use the stairs, park further away from the door, walk your dog, walk at lunch, and walking after dinner will help you get in your steps. Next, add weightlifting and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workouts to your routine. Your body will thank you as you age.
These tips will help you start your wellness journey. If you would like to work with us personally, please send us an email and we will be glad to help you TAKE BACK YOUR HEALTH!!
