WeighLess Habits

Would it surprise you if I told you that losing weight has very little to do with willpower? Well read on because I am about to blow your mind. In any given moment there are over 100,000 chemical reactions happening in your brain. Your sends signals to nerves throughout your body through messengers called neurotransmitters. Many neurotransmitters control how you feel throughout the day. Some cause alertness while others produce feelings of calmness. What you eat can effect the formation of these transmitters. Your brain constantly seeks balance and learns what to do to reach that balance or pleasure. This drive can be hard to override and often leads us to overeat. How a food smells, tastes and the texture can excite chemicals in the brain that leads to pleasure, releases stress and produces a calming reaction. You can learn new habits that help give your brain balance. Serotonin and endorphins are messengers that have a strong connection to the foods you eat. Serotonin brings

Most of us are afraid of fats and try to avoid them when losing weight. Some fat is required for our bodies and can actually help with fat loss but you need to know which types of fat can help and which ones to steer clear of. Fats come from animal and plant based sources. They all contain a lot of calories and should be eaten in moderation.  Each type of fat have different effects on the body. Here is a basic breakdown of each type: Saturated fats include butter, lard, fatty animal meats, bacon, sausage, cream, gravies, full fat dairy products,  palm/palm kernel oil. Diets high in saturated fats have been linked to high blood pressure and heart disease so they should be kept to a very minimum.  Polyunsaturated fats include vegetable oil, corn oil, sunflower oil. Our bodies need some of these for vital functions however a lot of the foods we eat already contain these so we don’t need to try to add them. Monounsaturated fats include olive oil, canola oil, nuts, olives a

Did you know that lack of sleep influences the 2 hormones in your body related to hunger? Ghrelin is a hormone that is responsible for increasing appetite and Leptin is a hormone that lets the brain know when the stomach is full. When you don’t get enough sleep there is a decrease in Leptin and increase in Ghrelin. This leads to an increase in appetite and increased food intake during the day following a night of little sleep. The brain is always fighting for balance. Make sure you are sleeping at least 7 hours each night to keep these hormones in balance. Keeping your weight loss goals in check is hard enough without fighting against these unbalanced hormones.

Let’s talk about carbs. Carbohydrates provide the body with fuel it needs for physical activity and organ functions so they are an important part of a healthy diet. But some carbs are better than other for weight loss. There are 2 kinds of carbs- simple and complex. Simple carbs are found in processed food such as white sugar, white breads and pasta. Complex carbs are in vegetables and products made with whole grains such as whole wheat pasta, wheat bread, brown rice and oatmeal. Which is better for weight loss? The liver breaks down carbs into simple sugars, or glucose which stimulates the production of insulin. The different carbs affect the production of insulin differently. Simple carbs spike insulin levels so the body can use the carbs for quick energy. Complex carbs take longer to break down resulting in longer lasting energy levels and less of an insulin shock. If the body produces too much insulin the extra glucose will be stored as fat and not used for energy. Try to incl

Cardio is very important for your health and for weight loss but so is strength training. Remember muscle burns fat! So just adding a little bit of muscle tissue will help you burn extra calories and give your body form as you lose weight. If you don’t add a little muscle you will just be a skinnier version of the body you have now. Here is a very basic lower body workout to help get you toned up. Alternate lower and upper body workouts and separate days to give your muscles time to recover a day in between. Squats- Quadriceps (front muscle upper leg) Starting position:     Stand with your feet a little wider than your shoulders, toes pointed forward. Action:      Slowly lower your body bending slightly at your hips as if you are going to sit on the end of a chair. You can even use a chair for reference. Keep your weight on your heels and make sure your knees do not go in front of your toes. Straighten legs and come back to starting position. Repeat for 12 reps Leg Cur

Eating a diet high in protein will help you reach your  weight loss goals.  Benefits of protein: helps boost metabolism  stabilizes blood sugar which keeps craving away boosts Immunity  helps builds lean muscle (muscle burns fat) increases energy level  Aim for 3 servings of lean protein each day. Here are some surprising options for high protein foods.... http://www.eatthis.com/best-ever-proteins-for-weight-loss/  

It is proven that what you imagine and focus on is what life will give you. When you fill your mind with doubt and negative thoughts  you are preventing yourself from becoming the fit, healthy person you want to be. When you meantally prepare to lose weight your body responds to the subconscious coaching. You start to want more healthy food and you will move more. Your brain controls your body and your thoughts control your brain. We become what we think and say. Picture yourself how you want to look and feel. If you want to be fit and healthy picture yourself that way. Visualize your future self 6 months from now and how good you will feel without the extra pounds dragging you down. You have to keep your goal at the front of your mind at all times. Find pictures in magazines and online of bodies similar to what you would like to achieve. Please be realistic with this. Models that are bone thin in pictures should not be your goal. First, the photos are probably photoshopped and n

Eating at least 3 servings of fruit each day can help you with your weight loss goals. Fruits contain a large number of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to provide your body with strong health benefits. Many fruits are also high in fiber which helps fill you up and contain natural sugars to help control cravings. Some fruits contain pectin. Pectin works as natural fat burners and can help boost metabolism. Some great fruit choices for weight loss include: Oranges- negative calorie fruit which means it contains less calories than your body requires to burn it. Pretty awesome right?  Blueberries/Strawberries- helps produce fat burning hormones increasing metabolism and rich in antioxidants  Apples- high in fiber, antioxidants and helps prevent blood sugar spikes and cravings Grapefruit- studies show eating a half grapefruit before each meal helps reduce belly fat Tomatoes- stimulates production of amino acid carnitine which speeds up the body’s fat burning capacity Eati

We are going to start adding in some strength training to build some muscle tone. I know you don’t want to get all bulked up and build huge muscles. We aren’t talking about big, manly muscles, just some lean muscle tissue that will make everything in your life a little easier including weight loss. Muscle tissue is active and fat is not. The more muscle you build, the more calories you burn without even trying. When you are losing weight you want to be rebuilding your body and shape with toning your muscles. If you don’t, what you will be left with a thinner version of the body you have now without any shape. The muscle group we are going to start out with is your upper body. Each day you will learn a new exercise and then put them together to form a basic upper body workout. You will need some sort of weight for these exercises. If you are new to this 3-5 pound weights will work great or you can even use full water bottles to get started.   Basic full upper body workout- complet

Self image is closely related to the success or failure of any goal you seek. To break old habits and develop healthy ones you need to see yourself in a positive light. Healthy self esteem is a very positive and attractive trait. Just like your muscles your self esteem will strengthen with regular mental workouts. No matter where you are starting whether you want to lose 100 pounds, 20 pounds or just want to be healthier and feel better you have to believe in yourself now! Stand, walk and smile like a person who feels great. Fake it till you make it if you have to. Don’t really feel fabulous yet? Pretend like you do. Have you ever laughed really hard on purpose for no reason? Try it. Laugh as hard as you can for 30 seconds looking in a  mirror. I bet it instantly lifts your mood. Same thing with how you feel in the day. From this moment on you are not allowed to think negatively of yourself. We are going to work on a few short assignments in your journal. This is a very importa

Time to add on a little to your new healthy life. Everyday make sure you eat at least 3 servings of vegetables. Why? Not just because your mom said, eating vegetables will help you lose weight. They are low in fat and calories but high in fiber. That fiber content will fill you up so you have less room for the not so good for you stuff.  Vegetables also have so many vitamins and chemicals that help boost your energy. There is also growing evidence that plant based foods sort of short circuit food addiction and helps to control cravings. One of the biggest reasons people overeat is vitamin deficiency. If you aren’t giving your body what it needs it will keep trying to fill that need.  Okay, some of you are now going to say that you don’t like vegetables right? So, there are literally hundreds of vegetables out there and thousands of ways to prepare them so not liking any vegetables is pretty much impossible. Open your mind and experiment. This can be fun!  Here are a few ide

Having the right mindset is the MOST important part of weight loss. It will give you motivation, commitment and help you overcome obstacles. Your mind controls what you eat and whether or not you exercise. You can have all the information in the world  but if you don’t have the right way of thinking then you won’t act on all that fabulous info. Did you ever wonder why so many people complain about needing or wanting to lose weight but fail to do so? It’s all in your head! Programming your brain for this new life style is not a quick process. You have to regularly monitor and be aware of how you are thinking. You can think yourself thin or think yourself unhealthy. You can literally retrain your brain from unhealthy habits to healthy ones that support the life that you want. If you want to change your body, you must change your mind. To lose weight and keep it off you will need to do some mental homework every day. Keeping a weight loss journal is a great way to reinforce all the

To lose weight and feel healthy we have to move more. You aren’t going to start out running marathons just slowly building exercise into your life. Exercise raises your metabolism, burns calories and helps relieve stress to put you in a better mood. This should not be something you dread doing. If you don’t enjoy it, you won’t keep doing it. Remember this is about creating life long habits. To burn fat you need to get your heart rate up for an extended period of time. The easiest and one of the best forms of exercise is walking. Walking burns the most fat per calorie compared to jogging or sprinting. Fat needs oxygen to break it down for energy. When you are out of breath such as when you jog or run your body will use other energy like carbs for energy. I am not saying that you should not push yourself a little- just don’t get so out of breath that you can’t speak. Start adding in a 30 minute walk or dance workout, bike ride .... anything you enjoy and will keep your heart rate u

Planning For Your New Life Weight loss normally doesn’t just happen, you have to plan for it. When are you going to exercise, what are you going to fuel your body with? There are lots of things that will get in your way if you don’t have a plan.  You have to carve out a little time out of your day and make it your own. Time is not an excuse- we all have the same amount of hours in each day. It’s how you choose to spend your time that counts.  Life is nothing more than a series of choices. You have the power to choose how you want to live your life and everyday is a brand new start.  In the next 27 days we will be talking about how your thinking effects weight loss, how to give your body what it needs to be healthy and how to slowly build exercise into your life.  Weighless Habits day 2 is about planning so right now decide when you are going to exercise each day. This has to become part of your daily routine just like brushing your teeth. Plan for just 45 minutes a

Starting right now concentrate on drinking at least 8 glasses of water each day. All functions in our body require water. Drinking water helps these processes happen more quickly which increases your metabolism. If you don’t take in enough water your body gets dehydrated. If there is even a slight dehydration your body may mistake hunger for thirst and you may start looking for something to eat when you really just wanted some water.  Water also triggers the part of your brain that tells you when you are full which will curb your appetite.  Your goal is to drink at least 8 cups of water everyday. If you don’t like plain water just keep trying. You will get used to it! It’s not hard to quickly swallow a cup of water without thinking about it. Eventually you will learn to like it I promise! You have to spread your water out throughout the day. Start first thing in the morning and drink a glass of water as soon as you get up. Drink a glass before each meal and snack. This is a g