Do You Need to Lose Weight?
Our perception of our bodies can be so warped by media and other people’s opinions that we really may not know the answer to that question. I have seen both extremes. Many times, I have talked to women who would say that if they could just lose twenty pounds, they would be satisfied. While a twenty-pound loss is great for many people, if you need to lose 120, that’s not going to fix all of your problems. I have also known of men and women who were already at a healthy weight or below, to try everything in their power to shed more fat. That is often fatal. Your healthy weight should be determined by your medical doctor, not a phony picture of a media icon. Neither should it be determined by the fat acceptance movement. Both ends of that spectrum are dangerous, so first of all, SEE YOUR MEDICAL DOCTOR to determine your best weight.
Calories In
Regardless of what fad diet is popular at any given time, for weight management to be successful you have to know how many calories you are eating. Simply stated, a calorie is a measurement of heat, or energy, that your body uses to stay alive and do everything that you do every day. If you eat too many, they are stored as fat, not enough and you will be under weight. There is no mystery to the calorie. This is not difficult to understand. If you are trying to stay on a “diet” that you barely understand, it’s not sustainable and will not work in the long run. I’ll never forget reading about some crazy food combination diets that made weight loss so complex that if you bought the book, did the diet and did not lose weight, it was easy to assume that you just didn’t do it right. Logging your calories until you reach the number that you should eat in a day is not hard. It may be hard to walk past the Oreos in the grocery store but counting the calories in them is easy. Ask your doctor how many calories you should eat. My Fitness Pal (free version) will also give you a good idea and we have the free Calorie Counter Pro that can help. Figure that out and start counting.
Weight Depends on Accountability
How many times have you been trying to lose weight and thought “This one time won’t matter.” as you reached for a cupcake or picked up the phone to order pizza? If you have enough calories left in your calorie allotment for the day to eat those foods, it won’t. However, sugar filled desserts will give you uncontrollable cravings that will eventually derail your best efforts. When we eat excess calories, they add up and trigger foods like cupcakes and regular pizza tend to cause us to overeat. (Here’s the recipe for Fathead Pizza Crust with no refined carbs to degrade into sugar in your bloodstream. Add your favorite toppings and enjoy!) Many weight loss groups encourage the “cheat meal” and even glory in the rebellion of eating unhealthy amounts of unhealthy foods. It’s easy to eat 1000 extra calories in a cheat meal. If you are eating the right number of calories to lose a pound a week, or 4 pounds in a month, and you eat 1000 extra calories every week, that’s 4000+ in a month. There are 3500 calories in a pound, so you just slowed your weight loss to less than 3 pounds per month. Odds are, if you regularly have cheat meals, you will eat MORE than 1000 extra calories in those meals. There’s 1000 in some milkshakes ALONE. So, the cheat meal habit can stop weight loss in it’s tracks. You may think that you’re “doing the best you can” but blowing it all on the weekend. God forbid that you “eat what you want” on the weekends. THAT habit will result in weight gain, even if you are staying within your calorie allowance during the week.
It’s Not Fair!
Oh, so you think that it’s just not fair that you can’t ever eat anything that you want on your “diet”? Well, that’s true, if you are on a “diet”. We teach people to develop a healthy lifestyle where we eat plenty of good, whole, healthy food that satisfies us and keeps us full to help us reach our ideal weight.
If you avoid added sugars, you will quit craving sugar. We have healthy versions of recipes for almost any dessert that you would like. Here’s a no-sugar added version of a chocolate frosty dessert that is sure to satisfy an ice cream craving in the summer heat. We have many seasonal and special occasion treats. This Low Carb Red White and Blue Berry Ice Cream Pie is ideal for the Fourth of July. When you commit to living a healthy lifestyle, you study healthy living like a subject in school. You learn about nutrition, exercise and stress reduction. A healthy lifestyle is an ever-developing, perfecting of your daily activities that will produce the best version of you. The goal of a healthy lifestyle is to learn what is your healthiest choice in every situation. You can find something that you like to eat almost anywhere when you make the effort to learn and make good choices. You never have to feel deprived or hungry. Being careful to “spend” your calories only on healthy food that you also enjoy will yield amazing benefits to both your health and appearance.
Accountability and Weight
The cheat meal is only one mistake that we make. Daily extras that we think are insignificant add up quickly. I well remember years ago, thinking that I just had to have that piece of pound cake with my morning coffee. A new grocery store had opened up close by and they sold wonderful bakery items. I started to buy various flavors of loaf cakes and thought that “just one piece” wouldn’t hurt anything. The problem is, by adding that “one piece”, which always turned into MORE… to my daily totals, I was adding at least a pound of fat every 2 weeks, up to 4-5 every month. That ONE HABIT could easily put SIXTY!!! (60)!!! POUNDS on my frame in a year and almost did before I got it stopped. We tend to ignore those extra calories by rationalizing that as long as we count everything else, it will be okay. It WON’T. Count every bite, lick and taste. It all adds up. Here’s a Low Carb Breakfast Lemon Blueberry Bread that will make that morning coffee go down sweet and smooth with NO ADDED SUGAR, and it even has a wonderful confectioner’s style glaze!
Unlock “The Secret”
If we are serious about getting to and maintaining a healthy weight we must unlock THE SECRET of ACCOUNTABILITY. It’s that simple. Exercise is great when it is approved by your doctor but in the words of my distinguished partner, David, “You Can’t Outrun A Bad Diet”. Count your calories.
Get Accountable and Get Successful.
Dream Big. Work Hard. Make It Happen.