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Weight Loss Tips

Weight Loss Tips

June 4, 2010 – 1:32 PM

As you know I lost 30 pounds in three months. If you wanted to know, then these weight loss tips are for you. I’m not an expert, but I tried up to 60 different diets so fat. If these tips help you achieve your own weight loss goals, then I’m happy to have helped. Most of this, I learned on my own or through close friends and family members. Feel free to add your own tips to this list, too

Tip #1 Buy a scale

Concept of weight tracking is very helpful tool to lose weight. All you need to do is watch what your weight, sometimes we feel lighter than you think or the opposite. When you lose weight, you could be losing water or even muscle. It’s impossible to know if you’re seeing real results or just the product of your daily habits, hormonal shifts and changing hydration levels. Therefore, the best thing is keep tracking your weight.

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Body Types Diet Diary

Day 88: How to Know If Your Doctor Is Feeding You Bull****?

May 25, 2010 – 10:32 AM

Along my own personal quest to find solutions that (actually) worked (simple and easy to understand), I learned that I first needed to decipher what was a “hidden sales pitch” from “Doctor data overload!”

Discussions with doctors on the topic of weight loss can quickly lead anyone struggling to lose weight, into brain overload, or worse yet – utter confusion.  Unfamiliar terms, conflicting information and opinions backed with reason that simply makes no sense.  Most of us who reach this level of desperation, after years of failing to get permanent results on our own, quickly find ourselves nodding along – pretending like we understand every word.  I have recently lost 30 lbs in 9 weeks.  I made the common sense decision after being baffled by you know what, from one too many doctors…and at the end, I had just one question really:  “can you explain this to me in 30 seconds or less, and in terms that even a five year old could understand?”

If the answer was no – I discovered it was for one of two reasons.  One, the “professional” was intentionally “confusing” because a puny lil’woman consumer could never understand something so profound. I mean, if she did it would somehow hinder their success, which had been built on the “only the doctor knows all” mantra.  Or, the second; the doctor was so entrenched in the details that he couldn’t actually decipher which ones had the most relevance…ie. They were ALL equally relevant – there is no possible way for him to make even a 30 minute response.

The fact is, when it comes to common sense weight loss, this industry is seriously lacking a modern woman’s perspective.  There are either hokey figures that link fat loss to emotional horoscope stuff, or tests that are so confusing even the professionals can’t agree on what they mean! One of these ultra-confusing tests gives you readout with the percentage of fat you have in each body type.  How does that help? One compelling philosophy is that of four distinct body types – based on hormone imbalances.  But while the theory seems to make sense, the end result is lacking resolution…there are no answers to the question, “How can it be that I have a combination of all four types?”

Turns out this theory is about as well refined for women as most of the weight loss magic pill or burn-fat devices that I used to devise campaigns for…they have nothing to do with you, the consumer, it’s all about the latest gimmick, hype or technology – doesn’t matter if it works or not, they know that we, as women, will try – and pay – literally anything (and I am living proof of this) to lose a little weight.

Being a woman myself, we want something simple, straight forward, and easy that makes sense and gets results that last!  Well, I hate to have to admit that it has taken me over ten years to actually become one of “those women” – confused with what works, what doesn’t work, and ready and willing to try anything to lose weight(even it made no sense whatsoever).  I found myself middle aged, somewhere between fatness and fitness and utterly confused with all of the sales gimmicks and promises.

In just 8 weeks, I tried no less than 5 entirely different ways to get “results.”  And I am not someone who is gullible in this industry…I have spent the greater part of my life working with weight loss “experts”…I know how these programs work, or how they’re supposed to work, and yet I found myself floundering, losing traction & totally frustrated with the level of understanding & application of principles that was so sorely lacking both in myself & in the lives of the men & women around me who are trying desperately to lose weight but just not making it.

I met up with Dr. Eric Berg and convinced him to formulate a supplement for each type of hormone imbalance; complete with a detox phase and then the fat burning phase (i.e. the 4 basic body types).  This had always been something missing from the industry, and frankly, completely missing from his discoveries (published anyway).  Dr. Berg has done a tremendous amount of research on the four body types and has trained over 2000 weight loss doctors to use his same theories (most of them however, I wouldn’t trust to duplicate the same methods – it is a long shot!).  The missing link with Dr. Berg, is that his solution for all women was to follow a very rigid, (and taste bud-less, might I add) difficult (to say the least) diet plan.  It would have been difficult enough to follow the diet if you had your own chef and the finances to surgically remove your taste buds; but truthfully, and according to his own research – the diet couldn’t be easily successful from a nutrition stance due to the falling nutritional values of our current food supply.  In laymans terms – figure ten apples today amount to the same nutritional value as one apple in 1965.  This is due to depletion of minerals in the soil, environmental issues, genetic engineering of the plants, shipping issues, ozone stuff and all of the doom and gloom we can get overdosed with at our leisure by simply tuning into to CNN or any of your favorite “breaking news channels”.

Well, I partnered with him to build out a nutritional line pretty much just for us women who wanted our cake and to eat it too (literally).  The thing with nutrition that I learned through the years, and most impacting – through my own weight loss battle – is that if your body is starved for nutrition (like minerals, vitamins, etc.), you will have these pesky constant cravings (and I am not talking about the kind from KD Lang…in my experience – “those kind” begin to diminish and the “others” come into closer proximity).

Take a test that’s simple – mark the symptoms you have and…”find your body type.”

You’ll find I simplified the test a bit so it is easier to follow (with his agreement of course).

Now, you can start to get educated about your type.  Instead of adding the 400 pages of body type information written on the topic (about 150 pages to read on each type), I figured that most of you would really only be interested in reading about your test results and what you need to do now.

So..the book for each body type is available for a download right after you finish your test.

This guide will provide you with your long term plan.  A plan you are actually starting the day you decide to lose weight – but one with a strategy that is different from just quick weight loss…on this we’re talking long term health.  Once again it is simple and easy to follow – at the end of the day, it is all common sense…easy and simple enough for a five year old to understand!

So, if you are confused about why you have not been able to lose weight and keep it off; continue to hear conflicting information from so-called “weight loss experts” and feel lost in this sea of confusion…I hope that you find some comfort in discovering a simple, easy to understand road to get results.  These were the steps I took, and what I have used to repeat success over and over again.

  1. First, decide that you can understand why you have failed in the past…
  2. Second, learn about your body and get the simple facts (you only need yourself!)
  3. Find your body type, and start now! (trust me, there is not a reason good enough to wait till tomorrow, or next Monday, or the first of next month…do it right now)

Ironically, the last thing I tried was actually the only thing that made enough real sense to actually work. The trick is approaching it consciously with a simple, common sense plan that targets.

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Diet Diary

Day 86: Hedge your Bet

May 24, 2010 – 8:30 AM

If you have tried other diets and failed, or continue to gain weight back after successfully losing it just months before; don’t take another gamble before you read this article.
Hedge your bet by deciding to improve your health. This is the missing component that is hindering your long term success (when it comes to weight loss).
Let me explain: what most of us do when it comes to weight loss goals is decide on a short term goal that does payoff – but we know it is, at best – short term. These are the typical “Hollywood crash diets” – and I am not saying we don’t need them! If I did, I wouldn’t be being completely honest. I am right there with the rest of the crowd when it comes to doing virtually anything to look great in that outfit next week (and this most often calls for the age old – Hollywood starvation variety). The thing is, it does work and you lose weight. The only problem is, you know you are making your long term health worse, and you also know the weight loss won’t last long! But hey, I have had days where I would have paid two hundred dollars to just lose 5 lbs for the evening (maybe three hundred!).
On the flip side, deciding on a nice and healthy, solely long-term strategy is great…but less than ideal. You want results now and you want to be healthy now and later. What’s wrong with that?
This is where the “hedge” philosophy comes into place.
My husband works in the oil and gas industry (yes, evil oil and gruesome gas) and is constantly working on large deals of buying and selling (and no, he is not solely responsible for the ridiculous price of oil & gas at present so delete that nasty-gram right now!!). At first I thought it was very confusing that he would consider a “pitch” to a company where the deal would include both buying and selling (conflict?). In my mind, you are either representing a buyer or seller…and there is one goal. He explained that it is important to secure options because more important than the strategy used is something he calls “deal flow”.
Similar to weight loss, you implement a short term plan along with a long term plan. The most important thing is that you notice results from the beginning and they keep you going…for the sake of our discussion let’s call it; “fat flow”.
One thing to consider on your short term plan for quick results, which by any textbook means calorie restriction (and I guarantee they all boil down to the same thing), is to make sure you are getting the right amount of nutrition to also keep your body healthy. Because being healthy is a goal you are starting for a long term plan (this is not JUST weight loss); beginning at day one.
This strategy is a little different than the typical, “suffer now, play later”, or “play now, pay later” theory. This way, you are creating a “win-win” solution. You are winning at losing weight fast because you are gaining control of what you are eating while changing some of your habits, which will reduce your tendencies to overeat and make it easier to eat less; AND, at the same time you are going to make sure you are getting good nutrition – despite the fact you are eating less calories.
Nutrition is the first thing to get thrown out the window when someone decides to lose weight (quickly), because calorie restriction often translates to eating one drive through cheeseburger and a twinkie (worst example of course) for breakfast and lunch, and then a snickers-like “diet bar” for dinner with a cup of coffee. Now, even with that “diet” – compared to your regular breakfast of eggs, full meal at the drive thru, and lasagna dinner…you will start losing weight right off the bat. Short term win, long term loss. Not only are you not getting enough nutrition, your cravings will increase and you will eventually give in because the reality (despite carrying around excess fat) – is that you are starving your body. Obesity can easily become a symptom of starvation…for a confused body.
Beginning with with a good, clean, nutrition based diet is ideal – but let’s face it; that is less than “real” for most of us if we are really honest with ourselves. So, instead, pace yourself on a gradient. Make gradual changes to get yourself to that point, and don’t stress over doing anything “cold turkey”. Here’s an example from my own experience: first, I stopped eating so much junk and what I call, “trash food”. I still ate some, just not as much. Then, once I had that down, I started replacing those foods with healthier foods. This became easier and easier because I had learned new habits and stayed motivated by my body constantly changing. I wrote down what I ate every night and began taking pride in being able to write only healthy foods for that day. It got easier and easier – not perfect, but easier. I also got faster and faster at figuring out my calories for the day. At this point, I’m a walking calorie chart. But, I also made sure to take a great whole food nutritional supplement, beginning on day one. This way, I knew my body was getting the best nutrients it needed even though I didn’t have enough willpower to strictly eat 100% wholesome and healthy foods (like those outlined as recommended for my type of body). I recommend taking Liquiboost. It is a whole food based supplement that provides both nutrition and a natural detoxing effect. You should notice your energy increase in about a week and from there – things just get better!

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Diet Diary

Substitute and Back-up Plans

May 21, 2010 – 1:33 PM

As the Boy Scout’s motto goes, “Be Prepared”…likewise this applies to other areas of life – especially when it comes to the goal of weight loss.

Before you embark upon a new diet, new health goal, new commitment, or decision; take these two simple words to heart and make sure you are prepared to really get results (this time).  Start by identifying your weakness zones – call it the “willpower vacuum zones” (as in, my willpower “sucks” in these areas) – here’s some examples:

-          In front of the TV

-          Sitting at your computer surfing or answering emails, etc.

-          Driving your car

-          Reading a book or magazine in your favorite chair, etc.

For me, losing 30 lbs in 9 weeks was not an easy feat.  But setting the goal, making the decision and getting myself prepared to meet success in this area, once and for all – was paramount.  I had (let’s say) “challenges” with each of these “zones”!  And without a backup plan – in most cases where my mouth was simply bored (for lack of a better description), I would find myself subjected to uncontrollable cravings surging through my body…then what seemed to be, involuntary twitches leading inevitably to suicidal and forbidden food leaping kamikaze-style into my mouth (where there’s no where to go but down)…okay, just kidding.  But you get the idea – know your zones, and be prepared!  These zones could easily have been the demise of my best intentions, and they were (in my past attempts to lose weight).

For TV and the internet, I armed myself with celery, lettuce, sugar free hot chocolate, sugar free fat free mocha, diet root beer, or a green tea.  The hot drinks seemed to be most satisfying because it took time to finish them and they were soothing as well as filling.  So before I reached for something else, I first made myself have a mocha (this is semi-sweet, creamy and satisfying).

For reading a book, on the rare occasion that both of my kids were asleep and I was too tired to do anything else – I would drink a soda and finally changed that to plain old sparkling water (not entirely plain – the bubbles do help!).  I also tried lemonade made from lemon juice and splenda – that worked well too.

Driving the car was a different story.  I decided to call my mom or one of my sisters (even if I had talked to them three times already that day!).  I couldn’t have food in the car because snacking was too easy to do – and for whatever reason; it was sort of fun (I know, that sounds strange!).  Anyway, my mom was a “manners Nazi” when I was growing up. One upside to that is that now, as an adult, if my mouth is busy talking I can’t possibly think about putting something tasty in it at the same time! Thanks Mom!!

The list goes on and on, and each of us will have our own custom fit version. The important thing to remember about losing weight is to plan your strategy and be prepared to overcome your weaknesses BEFORE you begin your battle!  Just like in most games you play and intend to win, when it comes to weight loss; offense is definitely your BEST form of defense!  Be prepared!

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Diet Diary

Day 85: Write it down!

May 21, 2010 – 9:18 AM

Making a commitment to write down what I ate – NO MATTER WHAT, was likely the single most successful action I have done, helping me get and stay motivated to lose 30 lbs in 9 weeks without any unhealthy gimmick!
Do this in the evening while you are watching TV or reading just before you go to bed. That way it is fresh on your mind. Write down what you ate for the day and then go online to find out how many calories are in each thing you ate. Add up your calories and you are done.
Do this and you will realize yourself thinking (after just a few days) – “Why don’t I track some sort of exercise too?”…then a few more days will pass, and you’ll have another thought, “Why don’t I also track if the kids went to bed on time?”…anyway, you get the point. One little success leads to a bunch more. You will be amazed to find yourself competing over what you can improve on – progressing more and more each day…and being forced to raise the bar on ALL of your “goals” (not just weight loss)!

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Diet Diary

Day 84: Weight Loss Sales People

May 20, 2010 – 9:56 AM

Have you ever noticed that many of the people selling weight loss haven’t actually ever had a weight problem (I am not talking about the testimonials)? What’s worse, they are so confident in “their” solution that they are willing to “guarantee” that everyone will experience the same “fantastic” results.
The weight loss and nutritional industry is not regulated or monitored by the FDA (Government agency: Food and Drug Administration). Drugs and foods are. Interesting that there is not a drug available that claims to “work the same on every person”…in fact there seems to be an increasing list of disclaimers and “possible side effects”, all contingent on health, size, weight, lifestyle, bodily characteristics and make-up, diet, etc.
So who can you really trust?…I mean seriously – Does it look Jillian Michaels has ever been in a position where she needed to use her own “program” – I doubt it!

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Diet Diary

Day 70:Three Hidden Diet Killers

April 29, 2010 – 9:41 AM

It has been almost 6 months since resolving to really get (and KEEP) my body healthy and fit. Being the Adrenal Body Type, I know I have a weakness for accumulating unnecessary stress. Dealing with this in a way that doesn’t involve food has proven to be just about the only thing I CONTINUE to struggle with.
Yesterday was a prime example of that…(enough said). As the adage goes, “the first step is denial” – I must be doing pretty well to be acknowledging the fact that my number one weakness is STRESS. And yes, I have been in denial for quite some time. Stress has remained hidden from being a “Diet Killer” because in order for me to admit I have this as a weakness, I’ve had to admit I that I am not as good as I thought I was (kidding!)
These three things are my “Hidden Diet Killers” (and sure enough, they all relate to a type of STRESS!).
1. Financial stress (finishing our taxes, paying too many bills, arguing with the insurance company)
2. Physical stress (too tired, no energy, not eating enough and then getting starved!)
3. Role stress. I’ve worked at least two jobs since I was nine years old (no, child labor laws weren’t enforced where I grew up!). Yet here I find myself a stay-at-home mom part of the time and in the office workplace part of the time. Talk about a constant tug-of-war!! I am totally at home in a professional setting, but put me home alone with two small children and two big dogs & I am totally out of my element! Not that I don’t love my kids – quite the opposite – the problem is that I’ve spent so much of my life running ragged with adults that I’ve never learned to just sit back & enjoy the moment (which is an essential skill with little kids!). Often, this anxiety gets interpreted (by me) as atypical “boredom”. “Fun” and “exciting” to my three-year-old is usually neither “fun” nor “exciting” for me, so while she’s having fun, I stress about my perceived inadequacies and end up with – hand-to-mouth-disease :)
A few things to think about while I go to bed tonight….what do I do about this epiphany now?

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Craving

The 2000 Year Old Reason you have cravings…and the surprising solution!

April 24, 2010 – 3:30 PM

If you struggle with uncontrollable cravings you are not alone. A recent survey conducted by The Institute of Health and Wellness has shown that “uncontrollable cravings” is the most common reason given for a failed weight loss plan. Dating back to over 2000 years ago, cravings were discovered to have originated from physiological imbalances within the body. These imbalances, caused by environmental toxins or nutritional deficiencies were separated into four basic groups, called “Body Types”. Just like the elements (earth, wind, water, fire) each Body Type has certain strengths and weaknesses.

Because the body is maintained through its organ health and hormone levels, the four body types were named: Adrenal, Thyroid, Ovary, and Liver. When something is lacking in the body, it creates an imbalance. If the body is not properly balanced, other imbalances begin to compound in order to compensate (similar to the Chinese “yin and yang”). The simple solution is first, finding out which body type you have, and then, making sure your body is balanced (“healthy”). To be “in balance” means to have great overall health. If you find yourself accumulating excess fat or craving illogical foods (such as sweets, fried foods, chocolate, salty, sweet dairy, white carbs, etc.), your body is not in proper balance. Get your body healthy again and not only will you lose the “uncontrollable cravings”, but you will lose weight (naturally).

The Body Type program is based on the research of Dr. Eric Berg, and developed in four different kits designed to correct each of the 4 body types. The body type kit restores your body’s health through a two phase process: detox, and enhancement (fat burning). The kit is comprised of whole-food based products formulated for ideal absorption and based on the distinct characteristics and needs of your body type. If you have cravings for unhealthy foods, your body is confused. Take the test, find your body type…and experience the kind of results that only a program designed for your body can achieve.

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Diet Diary

Day 64: Finding out the Worst thing!

April 13, 2010 – 5:41 PM

The worst thing is that even if you win (and lose the weight), you know you’re never getting out of this game now…because the moment you simply “relax” it creeps right back in and unless you want to continue your rigid methods and sacrifice any pleasure in eating – be prepared to become another statistic (but hey, misery loves company, right?).

Weight loss and diets that work are about as dependable as buying a lotto ticket and expecting to with the Power Ball. Odds are against you.

First, you have to admit, that you are not really treating the actual cause of your weight gain in the first place. At best, just like any “disease” (if you really want to call it that) – without knowing the real underlying cause, you will either get worse, temporarily get better and then worse, or experience no change at all. We’ve all been there (unfortunately).

Second, have you ever noticed that most of the people selling weight loss haven’t actually ever had a weight problem? What’s worse, they are so confident in their solution that they are willing to “guarantee” that everyone will experience the same “fantastic” results. First of all, there is no such thing as a “one-size-fits-all” weight loss program (I’ve tried over 60). Secondly, according to the American National Diet Study done by Hopkins University, only 27% of people going on a diet will actually lose weight or get any anticipated (positive results). That means you have about a one in four chance of picking a diet or program that will work for you (comforting, right?). Here’s more: the weight loss and nutritional industry is not regulated or monitored by the FDA (Government agency: Food and Drug Administration). Drugs and foods are. While there seem to be no other programs for weight loss that notify you of different results for different people, etc. –there is not a drug available that claims to “work the same on every person”…in fact there seems to be an increasing list of disclaimers and “possible side effects”, all contingent on health, size, weight, lifestyle, bodily characteristics and make-up, etc.

(Just another point to resolve to stick with my body type diet – even though today has been a tough one J.) There are 4 different body types, each with its own characteristics and needs (if you haven’t taken the online test – do it!).
four body type

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Diet Diary

Day 55: Back to Common Sense

March 13, 2010 – 6:23 PM

Back to the body type diet for good! I can’t argue that it not only makes the most sense, given that the average person experiences success with a diet only 25% of the time…and there are 4 body types – go figure…BUT, this is the ONLY diet that actually made me feel better and more healthy (not just skinnier)!

There are four distinct body types and you can go to findyourbodytype.com to take the free test. Anyway, each requires different foods and needs. I am the Adrenal type and hate to admit that those characteristics used to fit me to a tee (most are starting to go away now though!). It is a long term program that initially I wasn’t going to do because I really only wanted a quickie solution for our upcoming vacation (aka, crash diet). Needless to say, my point of view has come around full circle, completely! Trying diets out is like playing roulette – it’s a risk if you don’t know what will work for your body type. I am back on the program and feel better than ever! I think this is a great thing…short term AND long :)

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