Category Archives: Weight Loss

Diet Mistakes

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At any one time 1 of 3 women and 1 of 5 men are on a diet. When it comes to dieting there are a few mistakes we can avoid:

 

  1. Crash diets or fad diets
  2. Wrong diet
  3. Not giving the diet enough time to work
  4. No accountability
  5. Breaking through a plateau

Most people know crash and fad diets don’t work but they want fast weight loss and so millions try them anyway. Before you start any diet read about it, see if it’s safe, effective and worth staying on for a few shorts weeks or forever. I like the forever diets. That way the weight loss is slow and more permanent. Expect to lose 1/2-2lbs per week.

For years I did low fat diets only to maintain my weight and not lose. How frustrating! Once I learned that I’m a carb addict and the way I lose weight is to cut carbs the weight started coming off. Dr. Mercola’s Total Health Cookbook & Program has a short questionaire to help you figure out how you can best lose weight.

Expecting to lose weight fast is unrealistic. It didn’t come on fast and it’s not coming off fast. Give it time to come off. Let’s say you need to lose 40lbs. Then that’s equivalent to about 20-40 weeks for those pounds to come off, then work to maintain.

Starting and stopping a diet is tough on the body. It’s sends mixed messages. Before you start a diet get some accountability i.e a partner, personal trainer, nutritionist, weight loss coach, health & wellness coach (that would be me) or a weight loss program. Journaling and therefore accountability is the #1 way to lose weight. Don’t believe it, look it up. You must have someone to keep you on track. There are smartphone apps for the REALLY motivated persons. I met someone recently who was able to lose weight with an app. It can work. Take a look at this app Lose It!

                                               

What to do when you are stuck at your present weight but still need to lose? Break through a plateau with a change in exercise, increase the time or intensity. Consider a 24-48hr fast of liquids only. You just need to get down 1-2lbs to break through the plateau. That resets the body’s setpoint.

If you are going to through all the effort to lose weight make it count and never give up.

Obesity in America

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A recent survey as reported by the CDC , concludes that the numbers of obese Americans has not changed significantly from 2007-2009. It remains at about 35% for adults and  ~17% for children. The good news is that the number has not gone up .  We still have a lot of work to do in reversing this trend. One thing I love about America is our resolve to never give up. We can reverse this trend.

I want to introduce you to a new system to curb your appetite and lose weight–>Slique™ from Young Living. Slique™ contains the essential oil Ocotea, found to help curb appetite and lower blood sugar. *This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease.

CLICK FOR MORE INFO…… 

CLICK TO ORDER

 

Accountability and journaling is the #1 way to lose weight. Purchase the Slique™ kit and you will get FREE online support for your weight lost.  I have tons of advice and tools to help you get to your weight loss goals.

CLICK FOR MORE INFO… 

CLICK TO ORDER

Purchase Slique™ Tea and you will get 4 FREE online weight loss sessions.

 

email me for questions sunflowerhw@gmail.com

 

Extreme Diets

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Just when you think you’ve heard it all there are more crazy diets on the market. Americans are on a mission to find the latest fad diet that will take off the pounds.  And there are plenty of crazy diets out there to try from the grapefruit diet to the growth hormone diet and everything in between.  But many of them are hard to stay on for any length of time (> 2 weeks) and so the yo-yoing continues.  Sure in the first few weeks you’ll lose the weight but just as soon as you come off of it the weight you lost + some will come rolling back.  It’s better to get on a healthy, slow paced diet that will take off the weight gradually while you get used to the changes and begin to make them a permanent part of your life. Then the yo-yoing can stop and you can begin to have some control over your life.  The older you are the more you need exercise to boost your metabolism.  Plus exercise tones muscles so that you are thinner AND look great.

 

HERE’S 5 TIPS TO STOP THE YO-YO CYCLE OF DIETING:

1. Prepare your mind & body for ACTION!!!

2. Decrease the 5 Whites: bread, flour, rice, potatoes, and sugar

3. Drink plenty of water

4. Do not eat after 7:30pm

5. Exercise 5-6 X per week

BEFORE

AFTER

I love tea

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This has been the year I’ve come to love tea.  I’ve always liked tea but I’ve experienced some wonderful teas lately that I love and now on I’m  a quest to learn more about teas.  I just ordered a catalog from Harney & Sons.

I precepted a nurse practitioner student this semester and for a thank you gift she gave me a Tetsubin cast iron teapot from Teavana. About a month prior I had bought White Ayurvedic Chai loose leaf tea and was waiting for my tea bags to arrive so I could try it out.  After she gave me the teapot I was able to try out my tea. I can’t describe the experience of drinking this tea. It was just amazing.

The teapot has a dragonfly on it. The dragonfly stands for good fortune, new beginnings, infinity, love, and romance.  I’m open to all of that.

There’s tons of books written about teas and their health benefits.  I’ll share one with you that I recommend for anyone who wants to lose weight and likes to drink tea.

The Ultimate Tea Diet: How Tea Can Boost Your Metabolism, Shrink Your Appetite, and Kick-Start Remarkable Weight Loss

Share some of your favorite teas with me.

Boosting Your Metabolism

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Increase Your Metabolism

 The best resource I have found for information on boosting your metabolism comes from the book

Flip the Switch by Robert K. Cooper. Below is a summary:

 Click on book for more info

 

1.    Eat the proper foods –high fiber, whole grains, lean meats, low sugar,  low salt, low fat

2.     Eating frequently , 3 meals, esp. breakfast,  2 snacks

3.     Slow down your eating, digestion begins in the mouth 

  •  Put your fork down after each bite
  •  Take at least 20 minutes to eat
  •  Seek healthy foods that stimulate your sight, smell and taste

 4.     Add hot spices to your diet like cayenne pepper, jalepeno, scotch bonnet peppers

 5.     Add vinegar to your diet, apple cider vinegar is great

 6.     Sip cool or ice water

 7.     Expose yourself to the sun as early in the day as possible

 8.      Sleep well

  •  Cool room
  •  Establish a routine
  •  Don’t go to bed hungry – protein snack –turkey, low carb yogurt, cottage cheese
  •  15-20 min stretching & flexibility
  •   Human Growth Hormone is secreted 1hr after falling asleep
  •   Critical healing period is between 12MN-3am

 9.     Green Tea—increases metabolism by 35%

  •  Drink one cup before each meal

 10.  Breathe deeply—increases oxygen

11.    Protein shakes—protein increases glucagon, will burn 40% more than with carbs alone

           *Try Balance Complete

12.   Eat protein at every meal.

13.    Eat starches early in the day—Insulin has a circadian rhythm, peaks early in the day

14.     Fish oil—improves efficiency of Leptin

15.    Do not skip meals – increases Ghrelin, a hormone  which creates a voracious appetite

16.    Pay attention to when your body needs a break during the day i.e. get up and move around or stretch

17.   Have your biggest meal at lunchtime

18.   Have an early dinner around 5:30pm or 6pm.  The later the dinner the less caloric intake you should have.

19.  Limit each meal to no more than 600  calories.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

 20.   Get moving 

          *Exercise builds muscle and muscle burns fat

  •  20 min aerobic activity 3-4X week
  •  Muscle tone-ups anytime throughout the day
  •  Core strength training for Abs & legs twice a week,
  •  Upper body strength twice a week
  •  Balance & Flexibility twice a week 

       21. Physical activity 30 min after eating while digestion is still taking place  will burn Carbs that otherwise will be stored.

  • Take the stairs, park farther away, stretch or walk during lunch
  • Pushups within an hour of getting up or go up and and down stairs or deep knee bends. Best if done before breakfast. 
  • Fat will be used as fuel vs. Glucagon which is stored in the liver. 

 22. Manage Stress – stress depletes your reserve of Dopamine and Serotonin

23. Proper vitamin and mineral intake

24. Drink plenty of water

 

 Burn It Up