Hi,
In case you are still following me on this site (though I hoped it would swap automatically!), I just wanted to say that I’m now hosting my own wordpress site and you can find me at www.fitnslim.co
Sorry for any inconvenience!
Look forward to catching up with you there,
Kim
Every person’s body is different; you may start quickly and settle down or start slowly and speed up! I know every individual is unique and that is why, as a Personal Wellness Coach, I work on giving my clients personal and private advice.
Group support can also be important as you can give and receive encouragement from others, as in our weekly Weight Loss Challenge groups or other slimming classes you may attend. Another option is to have a “Diet Buddy” who you share your goals, tips and experiences with.
As they say on the TV quiz show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” – phone a friend when you’re stuck and don’t know the answer!
As with any change of diet, the first few days will be the hardest, so a friendly, encouraging support will help you through it! After this time your appetite will decrease and it will get much easier plus you will start to feel all the benefits of good nutrition. If you chose your programme well and you stick to it, you should expect to lose weight safely and gain health, vitality and energy.
Beware the green-eyed monster!
I’ve had a few clients now who’ve experienced a problem with their friends as they’ve lost weight and started to feel good about themselves.
This ‘friendly’ sabotage can take many different forms from a genuine kind of concern “you’re starting to look a bit gaunt, don’t you think you should stop now?”(although you are still 2 stones/28lbs overweight!) to thin friends becoming jealous because you now wear the same or smaller clothes size as them and are no longer their “fat friend”!
As hurtful as this can be, just stick to your guns and keep going as only you know how much better you feel!
"Phone a friend" when you need support!
To summarise:
Very pleased to report that my weight is going down again! I lost 0.9kg/2lbs last week so definitely back in the game again.
Not succumbing to the temptation of sweet desserts and chocolate has help me refocus and so has making sure I’m eating enough and am recording what I eat – so easy to forget those extra calories!! More about this in a blog later this week.
The other factor that has made a real difference is making sure that I’m drinking enough water – always more of a challenge in the very cold weather and snow we’ve had this week.
I’m off the gym as I was very lucky to win a year’s gym membership in a competition right at the end of last year. Have just got going as I am a very definite gym novice but starting to enjoy it now I’ve got the hang of how the machines work. I will need to be aware that as I build muscle it will weigh more than the fat it is replacing but I know the change in shape will help me look much better in my clothes.
What do you think? Is it about weight loss for you or changing shape? Think I’ll run a poll to find out!
I did watch UK “The Biggest Loser” last night when they were in Florida and am constantly amazed at how little some of the contestants are losing when they work out 4 times a day and, according to the introduction, are “on a strict calorie controlled diet”. I do think they need more help and support with their eating habits.
So what are you Ps and Qs, I hope you’re all asking!
Portions; Proportions; Quantity; Quality
Sounds easy but not quite as easy as you’d think!
Portions
First a short history lesson: since the 1980’s typical serving sizes have increased dramatically. A few examples: crisps (aka chips to American friends) were 25g bags and are now 40g or sometimes even 55g; the most popular bottle size of drinks is now 500ml, when it used to be 330ml; plates used in restaurants are bigger – usually 12” now.
Why does size matter? Well, in portions it directly relates to calories. A couple of simple equations illustrate this:
Bigger portions = more calories!
More calories in than out = weight GAIN!!
But research has shown confusion between portion and serving. The result? People underestimate calories consumed by up to 25% each day.
A portion is the amount of food we actually consume which may be more or less than a serving. The easiest way to make sure our serving size is correct is to read the food label.
I was originally quite shocked at how little a serving of pasta or rice is supposed to be compared with what I had been eating but now I’ve got used to it I find it more than enough! So the lesson is to weigh it out or measure it.
Proportions
I’d like you to all hold your hands out and then cup your hands together….. .that’s the size of your stomach! Now hold your cupped hands over a plate and you’ll see how much of the plate you should be filling and not piling up. I finally understood the old saying “your eyes are bigger than your stomach”.
I aim to mentally divide my plate into four and to have ¼ of a plate protein, e.g., lean meat, chicken or fish, ¼ of a plate healthy carbohydrate, e.g., wholemeal pasta, couscous or rice, wholemeal bread (wholemeal pitta bread is a good choice) or sweet potato, and ½ a plate of vegetables and/or salad. I find it a good idea to have a small (even basic lettuce and tomato) salad with each meal as this really helps the cleansing and digestion process. I use dark salad leaves, such as mustard leaves and watercress, wherever possible.
How much are you trying to squeeze in?
Quantity
One of the most important skills you can master is being able to read a food label in order to figure out exactly what you are getting from your foods.
Pay close attention to where the label says “per 100g and per portion”. It’s easy to assume that small packages of biscuits or cheese or medium-sized drink containers are single servings. But this may not be the case. An “official” serving of a beverage is 250ml, but many drinks are packaged in 500ml containers or larger. All the nutrition facts on the label are for one serving. If you drink a 500ml beverage, you will be drinking twice the number of calories on the nutrition facts panel as you’ll be taking in two servings. You will need to double all the information on the label to determine exactly what you are taking in.
I find the following useful to visualise when I’m looking at a food label:
Quality
The closer you are to nature, the closer you are to health! Upgrade to colourful foods and enjoy delicious, fresh food!
Look at the positives:
It seems everywhere we look someone is promoting a new diet that praises the power of protein. But whether you want to lose, gain or maintain your current weight, the importance of protein goes far beyond physical appearance and muscle building.
According to Dr David Heber in the LA Shape Diet, “your Protein Factor is the amount of protein that you need to consume during the day to maintain a healthy lean body mass.” Normally you would need 1g of protein per 1-1.5kg of lean body mass.
If you are not exercising you need the lower end of your specific protein factor and if you are, then it’s advisable to eat the middle of the range of your particular protein factor. If you eat more protein than you use, you will store the excess as FAT!
Protein is an important component of every cell in the body. It is stored in muscles and organs and the body utilises it to build and repair tissues, as well as for the production of enzymes and hormones. Proteins also make it possible for blood to carry oxygen throughout the body.
A lack of protein can cause loss of muscle mass and decreased immunity, as well as weakening of the heart and respiratory system.
Benefits Of Increasing Your Protein Intake
What Is Protein?
Protein is the basic ‘building block’ of all living things. Our bodies are about 25% protein. Protein is made up of 22 amino acids, 9 of which are essential. Your body needs them and cannot make them for itself – they have to be ingested. They are not stored and so a daily supply of all 9 is necessary.
There Are Two Types Of Protein:
Animal proteins can come with a high percentage of saturated fat, e.g., a 6oz/150g steak contains 16g of saturated fat. Fish and poultry are best sources of ‘lean’ (less saturated fat) protein.
You can obtain healthy sources of protein without high levels of saturated fat. For example, soybeans, nuts and whole grains provide protein without much saturated fat and offer plenty of healthful fibre and micronutrients as well. The soybean is a complete protein, containing ALL 9 essential amino acids without ANY saturated fat!
If you’re looking for yet another great way to obtain healthy protein, vegetable sources of protein found in Herbalife’s Formula 1 is high quality and has lower calorie levels with virtually no added fat. Herbalife® products personalise your daily protein intake to match your body’s needs.
Examples of healthy protein!
Managed to maintain my weight loss this week, keep to my target and even lose just a bit which after something of a blowout weekend (well, Sunday really) was a great result! My 2kgs/5lbs a month target is now looking eminently sensible as it does allow me to occasionally indulge.
It was of course entirely my own fault as I had my brother and sister round for lunch and made a fairly evil dessert rather than a health fruit salad! But that’s life and my weight loss regime does have to fit around all the normal things that I do. There’s always going to be birthdays, anniversaries or special occasions and the key is to learn to cope with them.
If you do fall off the wagon or, as in my case this weekend, fall off your horse (yes, I actually managed to do that too – probably why the dessert was so tempting as comfort food!), in the words of the song “just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again”!
I’ve learnt not to let one bad meal become a bad day, then a bad couple of days, then a bad week and finally a bad month and give up. I accept it as just that meal (or day if it’s that kind of occasion), don’t beat myself up over it and get right back into my routine the next day.
Now it’s the start of a new month and I have my target all set again and feel really positive about achieving it because I’ve learned the benefit of just sticking to that level.
After plateau period weight now on the way down again!
Drink plenty of water!
Water is a natural appetite suppressant and lack of water can lead to over-eating. This is because your brain doesn’t differentiate between hunger and thirst, so when you think you are feeling hungry; chances are your body really needs water, so drink a large glass of water before you eat. In most cases, you will probably find this will satisfy what you thought were hunger pangs. Ask yourself “Is my tummy grumbling?” If it’s not – you’re probably NOT hungry – more than likely you are thirsty!
Water Facts
Your body is 70% water! It’s the second most important substance for life and a solvent for most of the nutrients in the body. It balances body temperature. It flushes out impurities in the skin leaving your skin looking younger for longer.
Depression and chronic fatigue can be linked to dehydration. Even a 5% drop in body fluids can cause a 25-30% loss of energy in most people.
Water is the basis of all biological processes in the body – mainly for the digestive system. Digestion of solid foods requires large amounts of water. Water aids the kidneys in eliminating the waste from our bodies – not enough water and you poison your body as the toxins stay inside.
Water lubricates the body’s joints – cartilage needs to be well hydrated. Water stored in your spinal disc core supports about 75% of the upper body’s weight! It aids in muscle action as well as muscle tone. Muscles ‘work’ better.
Finally… 85% of the brain tissue is water!
How much do we need?
Nearly every diet programme, book or weight loss class recommends 2 litres (roughly 8 glasses a day). However, a more accurate indicator is
1 litre for every 4 stones or 56lbs or 25kgs you weigh!
We absorb around about 1 litre from our food per day – the rest we need to drink.
Water Is Your ‘Secret Weapon’ To Aid Fat Loss
Liver metabolises fat by breaking it down into its manageable compounds. If kidneys do not get enough water, the liver has to pick up the slack and therefore does not metabolise fat efficiently which results in you storing fat!!
If you don’t drink enough your body thinks it’s in a dessert and goes into survival mode. The more water you drink, the more your body gives up the stores of water it has been collecting in your ankles, knees and even around your belly. If you feel bloated you may not be drinking enough water.
If your body knows it’s going to get a regular amount of water then it will start working properly!
I watched the UK Biggest Loser this week and found the weigh-in concerning as it isn’t very clearly explained why the contestants who appear to have worked so hard lose very little weight.
My own theory, based on both my own experience and coaching my clients through their weight loss journey, is that it’s the muscle versus fat conundrum.
The Skinny on Fat & Our Body
Basically, fat is lighter than muscle but takes up more volume. A poor “diet” leads to depletion of Lean Body Mass and increase in body fat so you have to reverse cycle by losing fat and maintaining and increasing lean muscle mass.
MRI of fat stored around the body
Why increase lean body mass (LBM)?
Our bodies use the food we store in the following order:
1st Sugar
2nd Protein
Finally Fat
So we need to keep our lean muscle mass healthy and growing – every 1lb/0.9kg of muscle burning 14 calories – sounds like a great reason to ensure that we have the right amount of lean muscle mass to me!! By increasing our daily intake of good nutrition we get our bodies out of starvation/survival mode.
Help your body become a “lean mean fat burning machine”
In order to effectively burn fat, we must use it as a source of fuel. To do this in a healthy way, we need to decrease quick sugars and increase protein and good nutrients. This will keep the body working at optimum and help steady and increase metabolism.
So there are three quick ways to make your body a fat burner:
1. Eat enough of the right calories (good nutrition)
2. Eat enough protein
3. Starve your body of the ‘quick sugars’ found in starches and processed foods
TIP: Don’t obsess with the scale. Instead, look at/focus on your inch/cm loss and how your clothes fit as what matters. What your measurements will tell you is how your resting metabolic rate and fat percentage are responding to your changing habits. You WILL ‘eventually’ lose ‘weight’ if you are burning body fat.
Just a quick update…
As I said last week, the real challenge for me last week was to keep my focus on my original plan, sticking to my SMART goal of 5lbs/2kgs a month and not be distracted because I achieved that in my first week.
After years of dieting I do finally know myself and, with a couple of breakfast meetings and a really packed schedule for this week, making sure I didn’t fall off the wagon in week 2 was going to be tough.
I did keep feeling tempted to set myself a new goal but resisted and so have maintained my loss and have still lost 5lbs/2kgs this month. In reality this means I didn’t lose any more weight this week but I’m not at all disappointed by this as I am still on track to achieve my goal for the month!
I can feel my body changing shape and know that muscle weighs more than fat so that this is very likely to be the reason why coupled with the fact that I’m drinking more water as I was quite dehydrated.
I will explain more about both muscle and water in my next couple of blogs and then let you know how week 3 went!
kimatfitnslim 