Into Fitness » Weight Loss Tips

H.A.L.T

IntoFit — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 05:05:38 +0000

My husband sent me this really interesting articles about impulse shopping. I read it and immediately thought how much it related to impulse eating. It seems everyone has some sort of vise to help them cope with everyday stress. Some people “shop till they drop!” Some – eat.

The article talks about four reasons we may act on our impulses and not always our best interests.

They are :

Hunger
Anger
Loneliness
Tiredness

I think if we could just for a second before we start to over-eat (and I know how hard it is to capture that second), ask ourselves these four questions:

Am I Hungry ? Am I Angry? Am I Lonely ? Am I Tired?

If we know the right answer we may just be able to feed our body what it really needs. And sometimes when our bodies are hungry – it’s not necessarily for food.

To read the article CLICK HERE .

* Fridays’ Steps – 6423

* Monday’s Steps – 8923

N.Y Calorie Laws

IntoFit — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 10:18:16 +0000

It is now THE LAW in the State of N.Y to post the Nutritional Breakdown of all restaurant foods. My cousin was just in the State and experience this for the first time. The following is her email to me after a dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.

“We went to Cheesecake Factory tonight for dinner and in NY (we are in Albany, half way) they now have to print all calorie info on all menus. CRAZY!!!!!!!!! Things were like 2000, some 2400 for one dish. Most everything was over 1000 even the salads. It was really eye opening. I opted for one of the “Weight Management Salad” which had 400-something calories with the low fat dressing. It had chicken, blue cheese crumbles, pecans and pears – endives, lettuce, greens. It was delish!!!

I could not believe how many calories everything had. It made me veeeeeerrrrrry conscious of what to pick which is a good thing. Joel has ordered the burrito grande many times - 1900 calories!! OK, it’s big but he can mostly eat 80 percent of it. All the cheesecakes had about 1000 calories for a slice. The kids meal grilled cheese and fries had over 800 calories and the chicken fingers/fries had 1000 and this is a KIDS meal. CRAZY!!!!!”

Let me know what you think about the newly implemented N.Y laws and if you think they would be beneficial where you live.

P.S- My cousin is still in shock over the menu.

P.P.S – Wednesday’s Steps – 10,025 (Phew! Went for a 20 minute walk at 7.30 to get them all in! )

Greek Style Yogurt and Weight Loss

IntoFit — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 05:50:43 +0000

Ever since I moved form the States to Canada I have been obsessed with finding an alternative to my favorite Greek style yogurt: Fage. Why they don’t sell it in Canada, I don’t know. Anyway, I think I found something!

I love it because it has 20 grams of protein in it! Most yogurts have 2 to 6 grams. This is sure to help keep you feeling full and satisfied whether you eat it as a snack or include it in a yummy breakfast.
I also love it because low fat dairy is great for weight loss! Recent studies suggest that dairy products help eliminate fat from your body!
Not to mention that protein takes more time and is harder for your body to digest then carbohydrates or fat! What does that mean?
1. You burn more calories working to digest protein then you do fat or carbohydrates.
2. Because it takes more time to digest, you stay full longer.
And of course, this product has 150mg of calcium, that’s 15% of your recommended daily intake.

Liberte now makes a Greek Style Yogurt that is rich, thick and creamy and a pretty close (although not a prefect) match to my favorite Fage .

Here are the stats for 175ml (3/4 cup):

Calories	Carbohydrates	Protein	Fat	Fiber
110	6	20	.4	0

Calories Carbohydrates Protein Fat Fiber

110 6 20 .4 0

Check back in! I’m going to post one of my favorite Greek Yogurt breakfast recipes !

* Monday’s Steps – 10,197! Whoot!

The Ultmiate Weight Loss Tip

IntoFit — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:11:24 +0000

If there was only one thing I could say to help someone lose weight – this would be it.

WATCH YOUR PORTIONS!

Too much of anything is too much – even if it’s a healthy choice.

Start by doing this like:

Reading the nutritional labels and portion sizes on everything you eat. Follow them to a T.
Buy a cheap kitchen scale and start weighing your protein.
Pour your cereal into a measuring cup before you pour it into your bowl.
Pour your rice or pasta into a measure cup (or put it on the kitchen scale) before you put it on your plate.
Stick your Potato, Sweet Potato, Corn, Banana or whatever on your kitchen scale before you start eating it.
Any beverage you consume that is not water – measure it in a cup before you sit down to a meal with it.
CLICK HERE to read more about serving sizes and portions.
CLICK HERE to read more about nutritional labels.

Yup! Pain in the butt. I’m not disagreeing! But if you’re really serious about making healthy changes and maybe losing weight then this is the first step towards you reaching your goals. I think you’ll be amazing at how much you should eat of some things and how little you should eat of others. All of the sudden the things you get more of will seem much more tempting and “worth it”.

Let me know how it goes!

Food and Addiction

IntoFit — Tue, 11 May 2010 05:16:52 +0000

I could write 17 pages about this subject – but I really want to try to keep it short & sweet – hopefully to drill the point home.

There have been many articles in the news lately comparing simple carbohydrate foods and fatty foods to the effects hard drugs have on your body and mind.

I bring this up because I don’t think when someone decides to change their eating habits or to lose weight – they give it the consideration and respect that it needs. If you had a drug or alcohol problem – you would (hopefully) do everything in your power to turn your life around. But because food is something we NEED everyday – it’s really hard to look at it and treat in the same way.

And please don’t get me wrong – I do not think that anyone who needs or wants to lose weight is addicted to food- that is not everyone’s problem. But I do think there is a large enough population out there that has this problem that is should be addressed and taken seriously.

You know the drill – Your heart races at the thought of consuming a certain food (which leads to foodS), you begin to eat- your brain shuts off, an almost numb sensation sets in. Once your done – you feel awful about the choices you made, you beat yourself up and then eat again to numb the beating. It’s like you’re berried underneath a heavy pile of bricks that you just can’t get out from under. No matter how hard you try, each time you seem to fall back down again.

As a weight management coach I deal with this a lot. Clients come to me and the first 3 or 4 weeks of a lifestyle change is HARD. (Not that week five is easy, but it starts to get easier.) With EVERY client I have worked with, they experience some sort of withdrawal. Yes. Withdrawal. They get angry, agitated, moody and many other things. They think that eating crap or overeating will make them feel better – the same way a drug addict thinks a fix will make the pain go away. But the fact is- the food ‘or drugs’ will only make them feel better for a very short time and then they will feel worse. The vicious cycle begins again.

In starting a lifestyle, the first week seems to be the easiest. You know, your so excited about the new possibilities – you feel like nothing can stop you. Then the uncomfortable period hits and things get tough. You get moody and think the new lifestyle is to blame. But really it’s your old habits that are causing you this pain – only you think your old habits are the answer. So you give up. Here is what I’m suggesting -

SUPPORT.

If you have the luxury of hiring a weight loss coach or a therapist I highly recommend it. If you can’t, having a good friend to talk to everyday about your struggles is great idea. Just like an alcoholic, I think you have to push through the detox phase in order to come up for air. If food addiction is taken as seriously as say, cocaine addiction, then you would not for a second think that you could do it alone. The other thing to remember is you have to seek out alcohol or drugs – you confront food everyday. And you NEED food to live and breath. It’s always going to be there to tempt you.

To read more – click on the articles below. Just a few of the many articles on the subject right now.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=addicted-to-fat-eating

http://www.torontolife.com/daily/daily-dish/read-all-about-it/2010/03/29/junk-food-and-cocaine-pretty-much-the-same-thing-study/

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/28/fatty.foods.brain/

Anyway, it’s all food for thought right? I guess I just wanted you to know that if you have to lose weight for health related reasons, it should not be taken lightly. If you can’t seem to do it on your own – DON”T BLAME YOURSELF!!! There is a really good reason for it. It’s not that you don’t have the will power or are not capable of it! It’s that sometimes – you need support to get you through. And although, “it’s just food” – you can see that “just food” can have a power over you that you can’t begin to understand right now. Once you learn to control it- you will understand it.

I really think those are two keys to success. Feeling in control of food and understand it’s addictive qualities.

Know Your Food Portions

IntoFit — Mon, 03 May 2010 10:10:21 +0000

Too much of anything is really to much. Unfortunately you can over eat even the healthiest of things! I think it’s important to know what the correct portion sizes are because sometimes I think people think they are making a healthy choice- and then the foil their efforts without even knowing it just by eating too much.

1. Unless your eating fresh produce, almost everything you eat will come with labels. It is very important to read and follow the serving sizes on the label. Pay close attention to how much a serving size is, and how many servings are in the box. Sometimes you will buy a muffin and assume that it’s one serving. I mean, why would it be otherwise?! But chances are that muffin is 2 or even 4 servings. All the information you will need to figure this out will be on the label.

Pour your morning bowl of cereal into a measuring cup before you pour it into your bowl. Look at your labels. They are there for a reason, I swear!

If you want ice cream, have it. One serving of ice cream (½ cup) never hurt anyone.

Take time to learn what your portions look like on your plates and in your bowls at home.

Pasta and Grains:

For Pasta – normally you’re looking at about three-fourths of a cup or two ounces. But check the label of the brand you buy. Measure it out a couple of times so you can see how many noodles you get to eat in relation to your bowl at home. Then fill out your pasta with veggies and protein! The bowl gets pretty full, pretty quickly.

For Grains- Things like Rice, Quinoa and Barley are generally 1/2 a cup per serving.

Protein: One serving of protein is 3-4 ounces. I recommend:

3-4 ounces for women
6 ounces for men
I measure my protein on a kitchen scale once it’s been cooked. A cheap scale at your local kitchen store should run you $10-15. It’s a worthwhile investment that you should make if you can.

Fruit: They say compare your apple to a baseball—kind of tough to do. All apples look like the size of baseballs to me! This is where your scale comes into play. But if you don’t have a scale on hand:

Typically, round fruit is approximately 2-3 inches in diameter per serving.
Bananas should be no more than 6 inches long or 3.5 ounces per serving.
Grapefruit ½ of the fruit
Berries ½ cup – 1 cup
Dried Fruit ¼ cup
Avocado 1 ounce (3 slices)

Vegetables: I personally (although, would some would disagree) don’t think you can have too many green vegetables, especially if you’re someone who likes a big plate of food. Have as many servings of green vegetables as you like (as long as they are not covered in butter!).

When the color is not green, have a closer look at your serving size.

Sweet Potato ½ cup mashed
Squash ½ cup
Potato ½ cup (normally half a potato)
Corn An ear 5-6 inches long/1/3 cup niblets

Nuts: 1 ounce

Approximately – 23 almonds/ 18 Cashew Nuts / 7 Brazil Nuts / 7 walnuts

Feedback and Photos

IntoFit — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:11:32 +0000

I recently received a some feedback from a client that I thought would be helpful and motivating to all. I want to remind you all that she has been working with me for 7 months – these “Liberating Moments” as she calls them did not happen in one month or even 3 months.
Here is her first Liberating Moment:

” I have recently started to notice psychological results, and I think that these are what will help me to maintain my new, healthy lifestyle over a lifetime. Two of these changes have been truly liberating moments.

1) Letting myself throw away food.

My whole life, I’ve had it hammered into my head that I have to finish all the food on my plate. Of course, I’m sure my parents meant no ill will with this, but eventually, it spread way too far. I’m sure you’ll all know what I mean if you’ve ever hosted a dinner party. All of your friends come over with their cupcakes and their cookies and their various fried things stuffed with vegetables (spring rolls, samosas, spanikopita – who decided that stuffing things with vegetables and frying them was a good idea???) and, without fail, their super decadent “I didn’t know what to make so I just wrapped ________ in bacon” dish. You get the picture. Anyway, what happens to all of the extra food at the end of the night? You keep it, of course! You schlep out your tupperware collection and carefully package all of the food right down to the very last crumb. I used to think that this was just being resourceful – why throw away all of this perfectly good food?!?! – but I now realize that keeping this stuff around doesn’t help anyone and, in fact, it HURTS you. The truth is, all of that food is garbage. Really, any food that’s not good for you is just that, garbage. It’s either going to be wasted in the garbage can or, much, much worse, wasted in your body. Being wasted in your body is infinitely worse, because that waste isn’t disposed of, it’s stored. As fat. That’s right people – fat! So, my first liberating moment came when I started to a) force people to take their food back with them (which I think is a pretty sneaky way to get people to reconsider the types of food they bring to dinner parties) and b) throw things away at the end of the night. I cannot tell you how freeing this has been. I can have people over and enjoy the company and the food, all the while knowing that the food isn’t going to be around tempting me in the fridge for the next week. After all, it’s a dinner party – ONE NIGHT – why try to drag it on forever? Trust me – as much as you think you’re going to like it, having a tupperware container full of cupcakes staring you in the face when you open the fridge is pretty much the worst thing you can do to yourself. I think that this has also made me into a better dinner party guest. I’ve become more careful about making healthy options. If it’s not something I’d want to have lingering around in my own fridge, I don’t make it. The first few times you throw out food with be really, really, really hard but, like anything else, it gets easier and then…it gets fun! Another good related trick I’ve learned – when people bring in tempting treats to the office, you don’t have to eat the whole thing. Just take one bite, and throw the rest away. It’s really good training, and I think we need to train our minds in this way, just like we train our bodies.”

Stay tuned for liberating moment number 2!

On the other side of the journey- here is a client I have been working with for 6 weeks. This is a picture she sent me of her finished lunch and snacks from her day at work. I stress how being prepared is key and she clearly was

In her lunch was:
1. 1 ounce Almonds
2. Cut up veggie with tzatziki to dip
3. Turkey Sandwich on Ezekiel Bread
4. Home made blended vegetable soup
5. 1 cup fresh berries

The Reality Of Weight Loss

IntoFit — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 05:14:43 +0000

I don’t mean to be a stick in the mud but I think it’s important for someone to tell you the honest truth about losing weight. None of this 10 pounds in two weeks business! None of this eat everything you want and lose 60 pounds! It’s important to know what you’re in for when you start to make changes – this is not to discourage you, this is so you are realistic and not disappointed when you begin your journey. If you know what’s ahead of you, you will be more likely to succeed. Brace yourselves, I have my school-marm uniform on.

1. You Will Feel Hungry.

The reality is, if you cutting calories to lose weight (and you need to) you will feel hungry. Going from 2000 calories a day to 1500 - your going to feel the difference. Unfortunately, you kinda gotta sit in your hunger and get through it. After a few weeks, you will get more used to the lower calorie diet and your stomach will shrink – but until then- YES YOU WILL BE HUNGRY. My advice: after dinner- water and decaf flavored tea!

2. You Will Have Good Days and Bad Days.

It’s a journey. There will be ups and downs. You have to accept that you will have bad days. I say this becuase the difference between the person who succeeds and the person who fails is these “bad days” . The person who succeeds has a bad day or meal and the next thing they put into their mouth is healthy- they keep on trucking. The person who has a bad day and believes they messed up ALL their attempts and simply “gives up on themselves” will not succeed. I always say to my clients-

” IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY! It’s in the past.

It will not effect the choices you make today – IF YOU DON”T LET IT!”

3. It Is A Lifestyle.

Once you lose weight you will NOT BE ABLE to go back to your old ways. In order to maintain your new healthy weight, you have to stick to the methods you used to lose it. This is THE REASON ‘diets’ don’t work. People restrict what they eat too much or cut out a food group completely and they can only follow and maintain this new way of eating for a certain period of time. As soon as they stop – HELLO WEIGHT! You have to find a way of healthy eating that you can sustain FOR LIFE.

4. It will be slow.

As much as I would love to promise you the world- I can not. Making healthy changes, ones that you can live with for life – will provide results, but they will be slow. We are talking about 1 to 2 pounds a week or every 10 days. At the beginning you may see a 2 pound loss every week- but know and accept that it does slow down as you get closer and closer to that goal weight. Remember - slow and steady wins the race. Look at the weight loss as accumulated over time and not a day to day basis and you won’t make yourself crazy

5. You Have To Be Realistic About Your End Goal.

Pick a weight that is right for you NOW. Not 20 years ago. I think a big problem with people trying to lose weight and failing is that they decide they want to weight 10 or 15 pounds less then they really should. And this “weight they were in high school” is impossible to achieve because, well, they are no longer in high school! Their body, metabolism and activity levels have changed. If you set yourself a realistic goal and not a supermodel goal – you’re WAY MORE likely to actually succeed.

6. You Will Have To Say No.

As much as you read “You can have all you want!” You really can’t. Sure, you can have a treat here or there in moderation – but if you want to lose weight you have to suck it up, close your mouth and say NO. Even if it kills you inside to do it. Even if you are fighting with your brain every step of the way – you have to say No. And yes- it is NEVER EASY FOR ANYONE to say no to something they want – but you have to ask yourself what do you want more….diabetes or the cheesecake?

7. Working Out is Not a Get Out of Jail Free Pass

As a trainer I really only want to be able to say – workout and eat whatever you want! But the reality is, we don’t burn enough calories during a 30 minute workout to permit ourselves to eat more. If your trying to lose weight, it means you want to create a caloire deficit. Working out is a great way to create a 200 or 300 caloire deficit (it does not create a 700 caloire deficit unless you running a half marathon! – the numbers on your workout machines lie). Don’t go home after a workout and feel like you ‘deserve’ to eat the cake. No, you ‘deserve’ to lose weight! The cake should not be in the equation. Don’t make up for lost calories by eating more. You can eat your 30 minute efforts away in 15 seconds. LITERALLY!

Sounds fun doesn’t it? Losing weight is not a trip to the circus! It’s not fun. If it were fun and easy we would all do it. I think the important thing to remember is :

a) It gets easier. Yes, at first you will feel hungry, yes you will not want to say no. But after a while you will start to WANT to say no. Sounds crazy, but a switch will go off in your brain and you will start to love, live and breath your new lifestyle. Yup you still may have the odd hard day – but you will have WAY more easy days then hard ones.

b) Being a healthy weight is worth the struggle. You add years to your life, YEARS! You eliminate major risk facts for disease and are able to feel better and be more active. It’s kinda crazy that someone can go from having high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes to NOT HAVING any of these things without taking any medication- but by simply changing what they eat. And all that can be done in a matter of months. MONTHS! Now I would personally say months of suffering is worth all that! Especially if the months of suffering allows you to watch your kids grow up and meet the grand-kids!

Pedometer Season

IntoFit — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 06:13:02 +0000

Winter is unofficially gonzo! I’m afraid if I say officially then it will come back! For all of you who put those pedometers in your drawer over the winter, it’s time to break it out! If you’ve never owned a pedometer what a great time to go and get one. You can buy one at your local drugstore for around 20 dollars. It’s a tiny investment that will provide huge rewards and results.

People think I’m so silly when I tell them to get a pedometer and strap it on. It’s almost like wearing one is a step down from wherever they are. But here is the thing – a pedometer is a great tool to check it with yourself. See how active you are – you may just surprise yourself.

Yes, the goal is 10,000 steps a day – but if you strap one on and your at 3000 steps a day- the next day I don’t expect you to get 10,000 steps in!

Here is what I suggest:

Buy the damn pedometer. If I’m wrong and you hate it- all you lost was 20 dollars.
Strap it on for a week without any judgment or goals and see where your at every day.
Week two- begin to add 1000 steps to your daily routine.
Each week try to add another 1000 or 500 until you reach your 10,000 goal.
Once at 10,000- try to reach it as many days of the week as you can!

It’s the little things that make a difference. You can’t concur all your goals in a week, and you can’t expect to achieve unrealistic goals. This is simply about getting off your coach, clearing your head (or maybe taking the cell phone outside with you and chatting with your friends) and getting your steps in. If you have kids, take them for a walk after dinner.

NO ONE hurts from going for a walk! I HAVE NEVER EVER heard ANYONE say “That sucked, why did we go for a walk!”.

Sure, it’s tough to get out of the house- but once your out- trust me you’ll be saying “I’m so happy we did that!”.

* FUN PEDOMETER TIP! – Buy one for yourself and one for a friend or your spouse. Having someone to check in and compare with makes for fun, light heart-ted and heart healthy competition. It will give you incentive to get a few more steps in everyday!

CLICK THE PICTURE BELOW FOR THE LINK TO MY FAVORITE PEDOMETER!

Low Fat, Low/No Sugar, Low Calorie – DANGER!

IntoFit — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:25:17 +0000

I don’t even know how to start this post it makes me want to scream so loud. We (as a country along with are neighbors to the south) as SO obsessed with looking skinny that manufactures have invented a whole new type of chemical to make us happy. And I won’t call it food, I refuse. It’s not food. Anything that does not produce calories for your body to use as energy can’t be called food. It’s a chemical that is disguised to taste like food.

So, are low fat, low or no sugar, low calorie foods good for us ? Short answer – In my opinion, no.

Calories in these types of treats are replaced with chemicals that provide no nutrients. When you eat, your body expects to receive nutrients. When it does not get these nutrients, it wants them- leaving you feeling hungry and wanting more. So after your sugar free snack – your going to feel hungrier and your cravings will get stronger – inevitably you will eat more.
Many give themselves permission to eat more. If you went into a place like Baskin Robbins, you would order your ice cream- eat your portion and leave- feeling satisfied with your treat – knowing that you just ate something sinful and delicious. But (most of us- not all) have a low fat treat and feel like- “Hey! I can have another! It’s low fat!” And another leads to another and maybe another of something else! It was low fat, right!? Well, after 2 or 3 – low fat it is NOT.
And if we’re not talking about the sweet stuff, lower calorie and fat products have to replace what they took out with something so that they still taste good. What do they do ? They take the fat out and they put salt and fillers in. CLICK HERE to read about salt and the effects it can have on your heart. Low fat, low calorie food tends to be VERY high in salt.

Here is my personal opinion, you can take it or leave it!

If your going to have a treat, then have a treat! Something with real food in it! Bake a batch of brownies and have one, bake chocolate chip cookies and have two! Go out for ice cream and have 1/2 a cup! These are foods your body will be able to use properly and know what to do with when you eat them.
If your eating the REAL DEAL, your going to have less of it because you know that it is high in fat and calories! Chances are, you will consume less calories and fat then you would have if you opted for the low fat version.
If you REALLY REALLY WANT IT – BAKE IT! Anything baked is better for you than out of a box! (In moderation of course) You are putting whole ingredients into your food and you can see exactly what is going in it. It’s kind of hard to imagine a batch of cookies you make at home lasting for a year without going stale. Well, think about the chemicals that have to go into the box of cookies at the supermarket in order to make them have a long shelf life. Its not normal.

***PLUS- there are ways to make homemade baking a little healthier using real food - CLICK HERE to read my healthy baking swaps!***

Leave all the chemical ridden foods behind you! If you want a treat, save up for the real thing!